Open Championship on standby for tee-time rethink if England reach World Cup final

England’s dramatic extra-time victory over Norway has put organisers of The Open Championship on alert for a possible schedule change, with Thomas Tuchel’s side now one win away from a World Cup final that could clash with golf’s oldest major.

The Three Lions came through a 2-1 last-16 tie against Norway in Miami, with Jude Bellingham again central to their progress in gruelling heat and humidity. That result sets up a semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, with a place in Sunday’s final at stake.

A potential 19 July clash

Should England beat Argentina, the World Cup final is scheduled to kick off at 8pm BST on Sunday, 19 July — the same day as the final round of The Open Championship. That has left the R&A weighing up whether to bring forward tee times to avoid the leading groups being on the course, or finishing, at the same moment as a potential England appearance in the final.

The final groups traditionally go out at around 2:30pm on the last day, roughly five-and-a-half hours before an 8pm kick-off. Reports suggest any adjustment would be modest, with sources close to the tournament indicating a change of less than an hour would be enough to keep the two events apart. Broadcasters NBC and Sky are understood to be part of discussions over the feasibility of any switch.

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon addressed the scheduling overlap back in April, before the tournament’s draw had even been made. “We’re conscious of other events happening on that date,” he said of 19 July. “Of course, some things are out of our control in terms of play-offs and the like, but we will attempt to avoid a clash. I think we’re all looking forward to an England-Scotland final, so let’s see how that plays out.”

That hoped-for meeting will not materialise — Scotland were eliminated at the group stage — but England’s continued progress means the diary clash Darbon anticipated remains a live issue for organisers at St Andrews and beyond.

England chasing rare semi-final history

Victory over Argentina would take England into their fourth World Cup semi-final and, including major tournaments overall, only their seventh appearance in the last four. Their solitary previous meeting with a major nation at this exact stage in a World Cup came in 1966, when a Bobby Charlton double saw off Eusebio’s Portugal 2-1 at Wembley en route to England’s only World Cup triumph.

Tuchel’s side head to Atlanta on Wednesday having already reached back-to-back European Championship finals, and a repeat of Saturday’s late drama against Norway would send them into a first World Cup final since 1966 — with English golf fans potentially facing a scheduling headache of their own to enjoy both occasions in full.

Read more: Bellingham hits back at Tuchel’s ‘lucky’ verdict after England edge past Norway

Sources

• The Mirror
• The Independent

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.