The R&A is still deciding whether to change Sunday’s final-round tee times at the 154th Open Championship, with the FIFA World Cup final also scheduled for the same day. For now, the plan remains for the championship to finish with a final putt around 6.40pm on Sunday.
Mark Darbon said there are no plans to alter the schedule yet, but the position will be finalized after Wednesday’s semifinal. That match will see Thomas Tuchel’s side take on Argentina, and the result could determine how much of a clash there is between golf’s closing round and the World Cup final.
Darbon said the timing is being kept under review, but he also stressed that the Open currently has enough room to finish on schedule. He said the event would still have time even if it went to a three-hole playoff, which is why the R&A is not rushing into changes before the semifinal is played.
The possible overlap is especially relevant if England reach the World Cup final. Darbon said that would be a good problem to have from his point of view, but he also made clear that the R&A wants to wait before going too far ahead with any contingency plans.
Why the timing matters
The issue is straightforward: the final round of the Open and the World Cup final are set for Sunday, and both events will draw a major audience. If the golf finishes close to 6.40pm, the championship could overlap with the buildup to football’s biggest match of the day, especially if England are involved.
That is why the R&A is watching the situation closely. Last year at Portrush, final-round tee times started at 8.30am in Northern Ireland, and Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li teed off exactly six hours after the first pairing. Scheffler’s final putt dropped at around 6.40pm, and the trophy presentation and interviews continued well after 9pm.
The R&A has handled scheduling changes before. It moved the 156th Open in 2028 to August to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, showing that timing adjustments are possible when a major external event creates a conflict.
For now, though, the answer to what time is the final on Sunday remains the same: around 6.40pm, with the tee times still under review until after the semifinal.
