SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — More than 300,000 fans will attend the British Open at Royal Birkdale this week, making it a record crowd for golf’s oldest major championship.

They’ll need to bring sun cream and some manners.

For the first time, the R&A has felt it necessary to publish a fan code of conduct, at a time when some of golf’s biggest events have been marred by unsavory and even abusive behavior by spectators.

Titled “The Open Commitment,” the code boils down to these five basic requirements of fans: respect the players, respect the links, respect each other, be aware, enjoy responsibly.

Essentially, just be a nice person. If not, the R&A says it can punish “serious or repeated breaches” by removing the guilty parties from the property “without refund.”

“I’m all for an atmosphere,” said Matt Fitzpatrick, one of the 21 English players in the field who are most likely to be cheered rather than heckled. “Obviously I don’t want it to cross a line.”

That’s what happened at last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, when Team Europe’s players — especially Rory McIlroy — endured a torrent of personal insults and shouting on their back swings and putts. McIlroy deemed the abuse from the New York crowd “unacceptable.”

Wyndham Clark didn’t get much love at last month’s U.S. Open, with spectators cheering his mistakes — conduct that Scottie Scheffler said was “a bit much to me.”

Even the most recent British Open held on English soil — just down the road at Hoylake — didn’t escape some crowd misbehavior as American player Brian Harman defied some jeers and insults on his way to lifting the claret jug.

Clark doesn’t appear too concerned about any repeat incidents at Birkdale this week, describing British golf fans as “the best.”

“They respect the game, they respect the players and they really understand golf,” he said. “If you hit it into a tough spot and make the correct play or the smart play, the prudent play, they clap; they understand sometimes 20 feet is a great shot.”

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said marshals, volunteers and officials have been well-briefed on what constitutes poor fan conduct.

“We feel that it’s within our gift, if someone does step over the line, to ask them to leave the venue,” Darbon said, “and I think that’s a pretty powerful display. That’s the mechanism that we’ll use rather than fining a spectator.”

The World Cup effect

Tee times for the final round at Royal Birkdale are open to change.

And it's all because of a soccer match.

The World Cup final being staged in the United States on Sunday is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. in England — just 80 minutes after organizers estimate the final putt will drop in the Open Championship, unless there's a playoff.

The big issue is that England could be in it. Its team was playing Argentina in the semifinals on Wednesday night and the R&A is waiting on the result.

Mark Darbon, the R&A's chief executive, says it would be a “great problem to have” because he's an England fan and that his organization has been thinking a lot about the schedule.

“We think that, even if we go to a three-hole playoff, we’ve got time to complete the championship,” Darbon said. “So at this stage, no plans to alter anything, but we’ll maintain that under review and finalize our position after the semifinal.”

R&A chief says links courses not required to change to keep the Open

Royal Birkdale went through a number of changes, such as eliminating the par-3 14th hole and building a new par-3 15th. Darbon said “it would be wrong” to suggest changes are driven by spectator movement.

“The changes to the golf course have been driven by the members,” he said. “Given the strength of partnership that we have with our host venues, of course we’re part of some of those discussions, and where there are things that we can do together that also help us operationally, they often make sense to do to help with the staging of the championship.”

It’s hard to imagine Royal Birkdale members wanting a new hole, leading Darbon to be asked if the members’ decision was based on concerns the Open might not return.

“At no stage would we threaten a non-return to a venue on that basis,” he said.

Darbon also pushed back on the idea the British Open is moving toward bigness, particularly attendance. Martin Slumbers, his predecessor, had said before retiring, “Big-time sport needs big-time crowds.”

“If we’re able to facilitate spectator volumes onsite, we’ll always consider that, but it’s not the primary driver for us,” Darbon said.

He cited a return to Royal Lytham & St. Annes, which has a smaller footprint than Royal Birkdale.

“We’re not taking venues off the rotation because they’re smaller than others,” he said. “But there’s a balance to be struck, too, and we think we’re getting that right.”

As for Muirfield, which last hosted the Open in 2013, Darbon said the course requires some tweaks but the R&A looks forward to returning.

Rai gets a letter from the Golden Bear

Aaron Rai might not have been aware of all the things that come with winning a major as the PGA Championship was his first one. He knew about the Wanamaker Trophy (maybe not how heavy it is) and the five-year exemption to the majors.

The surprise was in the mail.

Jack Nicklaus for years has been writing a note of congratulations to major champions.

“After the PGA I received a handwritten letter from Jack Nicklaus, which was kind of surreal when we opened the mail,” Rai said. “For someone like that to take the time to write to me after the PGA, it definitely shows the class of what Jack is about.”

Adam Scott get an inaugural award in his 25th Open appearance

The Royal & Ancient has come with a new honor, announcing Adam Scott as the first recipient of the “Spirit of Golf Award” for his contributions to golf around the world.

The award is to recognize an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the game on a global scale and displays the values, behaviors and traditions inherent to golf.

Scott is playing his 101th consecutive major at the British Open, the second-longest streak in golf behind Jack Nicklaus. Scott turns 46 on Thursday, the first round of the Open.

“As someone who has spent my entire life in the game of golf it is so meaningful to be recognized for my impact on golf across the world, not only from a playing point of view but for also upholding values which are so integral to the sport,” Scott said.

The R&A said the award would be annual, though it could also be given to a team or organization, and is not restricted to professionals.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Patrick Reed was on the range at the Scottish Open, surrounded by PGA Tour players at a tournament co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. The last time that happened was more than four years ago, and it's soon to change.

“I can't wait,” Reed said.

Two weeks after Brooks Koepka became the first player from LIV Golf to be welcomed back by the PGA Tour, Reed was in his hotel room at the Dubai Desert Classic on the European tour contemplating his four-shot lead and how the final day would play out.

LIV Golf had a shotgun start, meaning all 54 players were warming up at the same time before each went off to their assigned hole to begin the round.

“Being the last guy out, having the range full and then it slowly empties, walking to the tee with the lead ... having that feeling again, those emotions, the adrenaline, I felt like I wanted to get back to that,” Reed said. “That Saturday night was huge for me.”

And when he finished it off with a four-shot victory the next day, Reed firmly decided not to renew his contract with LIV Golf and start the long road back to the PGA Tour.

He lost in a playoff the next week in Bahrain. The week LIV Golf began its fifth season, Reed was winning again in the Qatar Masters. That put him atop the Race to Dubai on the European tour, and he's still leading the season race over Rory McIlroy.

The leading 10 players from the European tour not already exempt earn PGA Tour cards for 2027, and Reed is virtually a lock. He already has started the countdown, knowing when his one-year ban from playing LIV Golf will end — the week of the Tour Championship in late August.

He also would be eligible to be a pick for the Presidents Cup team — he last played for a U.S. team, his favorite events, in Australia in 2019 during darker times. Royal Melbourne was a week after Reed was penalized for improving his lie in the sand, and Aussies heckled him endlessly. His caddie was suspended for the final match after shoving a spectator who had been cursing Reed.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker also was at the Scottish Open. Reed said he never saw him and doubts he would be a serious candidate for the Presidents Cup team in Chicago in September unless he were to win the British Open this week.

“It's not really on my mind,” Reed said. “My biggest thing right now is continuing to play solid golf and let things take care of themselves. I know it would be hard to make that team since I haven't played anything in the United States. But hey, try to get yourself in the discussion.”

He is not in that big of a hurry.

Reed won the Masters in 2018 and received honorary life membership on the European tour, a courtesy once offered major champions. Reed took it seriously, playing seven regular European tour events in 2019 and he has kept a presence since then.

After deciding to leave LIV — and still banned by the PGA Tour — it became his best option. Now he has a chance to join Collin Morikawa as the only Americans to win the Race to Dubai.

Reed officially won't get a PGA Tour card until the European tour season ends Nov. 15. He would be eligible for sponsor exemptions in the fall, but Reed has a job to finish.

The first PGA Tour event where he can earn an exemption is Sept. 17-20 at a new event in Asheville, North Carolina. Reed will be in England that week for the European tour's flagship event at Wentworth. The French Open, Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, all of them are opportunities to win the Race to Dubai — and deny McIlroy a record-tying eighth title.

A case can be made for Reed being the most global player in golf.

McIlroy has been brilliant in taking his Masters green jacket around the world to the Indian Open and Australian Open. He has sparked a renewed interest in national opens. But his appearances come with a hefty appearance fee said to be in the neighborhood of $2 million. It's been that way for top players dating to the era of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, accounting for inflation.

Reed said he occasionally gets appearance money but often plays “because I just want to play.”

He shot 59 in the Hong Kong Open when he won at the end of 2024 on the Asian Tour. He has two European tour titles this year, along with two World Golf Championships titles, the Masters for his lone major and six victories in regular PGA Tour events, the last won at Torrey Pines the year before he defected to LIV, where he won once.

He doesn't plan to stop his global travels. He wants to keep supporting the European tour. But there is a part of him that looks forward to coming home.

“Last year playing 32 events, 23 were overseas,” he said. “I always saw myself wanting to start and finish my career on the PGA Tour.”

In some ways, it will be like starting over. He played the third round of the Scottish Open with Kevin Roy, a 36-year-old whose rookie season was the year Reed left for LIV Golf.

“Nice guy, and he's waxing me right now,” Reed said during a fog delay. “That's why I'm excited, to see guys I'm used to playing with but seeing the new guys playing. It's crazy. The game keeps getting deeper and the fields are stronger. It's going to be awesome to see.”

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On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf