The outgoing R&A chief executive, Peter Dawson, has rejected suggestions from Gary Lineker that the governing body is comprised of “superior beings”.
Lineker, the BBC presenter, launched a scathing attack on the R&A, accusing them of being aloof and believes the decision to remove live coverage of the Open from free-to-air TV will prove extremely damaging for the game.
The 144th Open at St Andrews could potentially be the last championship shown live by the BBC, with the R&A striking a deal with Sky that will see the third major of the year broadcast on pay-TV from 2017. There is also uncertainty regarding next year’s Championship at Royal Troon, with the BBC potentially ending its broadcast arrangement 12 months earlier than originally planned.
Lineker, who has presented the BBC’s golf coverage on numerous occasions, expressed concern that the game would suffer because of the decision, an argument Dawson – who will step down from the R&A in September after 16 years – rejects outright.
“I think the R&A have always been very difficult to deal with,” Lineker told the Golf Paper. “They live in a world where it seems they feel they are superior beings. To me this is obviously one of the great weaknesses of what is a wonderful sport. They should be available to everyone.
“They are old school. They are born from an era which gives them entitlement which the rest of us aren’t. I felt that pomposity when I got the job [as presenter]. Now they have taken the Open away from the BBC for a few pence extra. For me that is going to be a very damaging decision for golf. The audience and uninterrupted coverage on the BBC is unparalleled and people will miss it. It’s a shame because the sport is struggling as it is. It’s badly run.”
Dawson, on the eve of his last Open as chief executive, responded in bristling fashion. He said: “I’ll leave it to you to judge whether we’re superior beings or not. I don’t think we are and I don’t think we pretend to be, and I don’t think we think we are. Good timing on that article this morning, Wednesday of Open Championship week, and I don’t recognise really anything in that article that I would regard as being close to the truth, frankly.
“It’s borderline absurd actually to think that an event in just four days of the year is going to make a massive difference to participation which sort of channel it’s on. If it was all year I might listen to the argument rather more.”
Falling participation figures have been a significant issue for golf. Recent numbers from Sport England show a decline in the amount of people aged 16 and over playing golf once a month. Between October 2006 and October 2007 that number was 1,457,300 compared to 1,092,500 between April 2014 and March 2015.
Sky are understood to be paying significantly more than the £7m annual deal to broadcast the Open previously struck with the BBC. The corporation will retain a highlights package but from 2017 Sky will hold the rights to every major as well as the Ryder Cup and PGA Tour.
Dawson, however, steadfastly rejected the assertion that moving the Open to pay-TV would have a significant impact on participation figures.
“We have said that we’ve taken steps in our agreement with Sky to maximise the accessibility to the broadcast through television, through digital, through the highlights that BBC have, and we’re pretty satisfied that won’t have a negative effect on participation,” he added.
“I think we can talk ourselves into this participation drop and make it a bigger thing than it actually is. The statistics this year in most major golf markets is that rounds played have actually gone up quite a bit. If you look at Australia, look at the United States, look at the UK, rounds played have risen significantly this year.
“ Let’s not talk ourselves into a participation drop that’s greater than it actually is. Martin Slumbers my successor I know recognises that the participation issue is going to be one of the main issues that he’s going to have to deal with.”
