The China Mail - British Open chiefs have no plan to change schedule if England reach World Cup final

R&A officials hope to have the 154th edition of golf's oldest major championship wrapped up in Southport, northwest England, by 1740 GMT on Sunday, provided there is no need for a play-off.

They believe that would allow plenty of time before the showpiece football match kicks-off at 1900 GMT in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

But no final decision will be made until the outcome of England's semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday is known, with Spain already into the final after beating France 2-0 on Tuesday.

"I'm an England football fan, so it would be a great problem to have," said R&A chief executive Mark Darbon.

"But I guess also, because I'm an England football fan, we should also wait to see how the semi-final goes before we get too far ahead," he added, with England having won the World Cup just once -- on home soil back in 1966.

"Of course in the background, we've been doing a lot of thinking about this," explained Darbon. "Our final putt is currently scheduled for around 6.40pm (1740 GMT) on Sunday.

"We think that, even if we go to a three-hole play-off, we've got time to complete the championship.

"So at this stage, no plans to alter anything, but we'll maintain that under review and finalise our position after the semi-final."

Some 300,000 spectators are expected at Royal Birkdale this week, including for four practice rounds, with the tournament proper starting on Thursday.

Unsavoury on-course incidents involving fans at last year's Ryder Cup and June's US Open have led to renewed concerns over spectator behaviour at golf tournaments and how best for the sport's authorities to respond.

Darbon, while "very proud of the way our spectators behave," at the British Open, said officials would have no qualms in ejecting trouble-makers.

"We feel it's within our gift, if someone does step over the line, to ask them to leave the venue," he said.

L.Johnson--ThChM