After the recent actions of Just Stop Oil protestors at multiple events and sports tournaments, Merseyside Police are on high alert for possible protests at Hoylake, with oddsmakers making The Open favourite to be the next target for campaigners.
It's happened at The Ashes, the Snooker World Championship and even the Gallagher Premiership Final between Saracens and Sale Sharks. However, according to the Chief Executive of The R&A, Martin Slumbers, a senior player in last year's Open Championship was reportedly targeted by an environmental activist.
Speaking at Royal Liverpool on Wednesday, Slumber stated: “We've had no direct intelligence. I think you're aware that there was direct intelligence last year, and most people in this room don't know that The Open was targeted last year.
"We have significant security procedures in place. We work clearly with the law enforcement agencies, and we'll wait and see what happens. You will have seen that we advised the players, please don't get involved, and I stand by that. We have enough things in place to be able to deal with it. Beyond that, I think security matters I need to keep confidential, and I hope you understand that, but I assure you there's enough sentiment in what I just spoke for your question."
He went on to later add: "We had a very credible threat that came through a -- was reported to us through a journalist that's in this room who very kindly and responsibly informed us that one of the most senior players in the field was going to be targeted by an environmental activist. That's all I really want to say."
Currently, it is unclear who the senior player was, but the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy were in the field at St Andrews, with many other huge names also present at the Home of Golf.
Ahead of The 151st Open Championship, which gets underway on 20th July, there have been some players responding to a possible protest. On Tuesday, Jon Rahm was asked whether he would be prepared to take action if confronted by an activist at Hoylake.
“Well, I don't know. I do have a reputation, so I hope they don't catch me on a bad hole,” he said jokingly. “You don't want to disrupt play, which they're trying, so if it happens where I'm at, I'm obviously going to try to clean up as quickly as possible so we can resume play. That's all I can say.”
