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Boston Globe
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
British Open bunkergate: R&A does away with tradition of having a crew rank bunkers
But at the British Open, it was always different. Dating to 1984 at St. Andrews, what now is the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has sent a crew to the Open where one person walked with each group and raked the bunkers in a trained, uniform fashion. Not at Royal Portrush. Advertisement 'I looked around and was like, 'Uh, I've got to rake this,' ' Hayes said. 'I do think it's one of the cool things about the The Open, a tradition that for whatever reason they cut out. And I think they should bring it back. 'I don't know why they did it,' he said. 'But I don't know a lot of things.' That reason? Good question. 'It's a change for us, but we think a good one,' said Mark Darbon, the new CEO of the R&A. When asked why it was good, he only said, 'A number of factors. We just think it's a good model for us here at Portrush.' Related : What next? Mr. Whippy ice cream without the chocolate flake? According to Jim Croxton, the CEO of BIGGA, the R&A informed the group after last year's British Open their services would no longer be needed. Advertisement 'With the growth of on-site greenkeeping teams, as well as the R&A providing top class agronomy support, the requirement for the additional Support Team has lessened; in recent years this team was only responsible for match raking,' Croxton said in an email to News travels slowly. In fact, it seems even the R&A overlooked the decision because on the entry way to portable restrooms for players, a sign reads, 'For use by Rules Officials, Players, Caddies, Walking Scorers, Scoreboard Carriers & Bunker Rakers.' All it took was one round for potential problems, both involving Tommy Fleetwood. His caddie, Ian Finnis, spent an extraordinary amount of time raking a bunker from which Fleetwood had a plugged lie near the lip. Then on the next hole, they discovered the bunker they were in apparently had not been raked, or at least not raked properly. The best he could do was advance it a few yards into the rough, leading to a bogey on Thursday. 'It wasn't a great rake job,' Fleetwood said. 'First thing is I was not very happy to be in there. That was the first thing, so that's my fault. . . . It was in somebody's hitting mark that hadn't really been raked great. I probably could have managed it better.' Round two gallery from The 153rd Open. — The Open (@TheOpen) Fleetwood also was perplexed why BIGGA was not brought back. 'They've always had bunker rakers until this week? I thought so. I thought that was odd,' he said. 'I mean, still, you just rake the bunkers, right? It's part of the game. I'm not going to hold it against anyone too much. You don't know what was going on, you don't know what was happening in that moment. I'm not going to get angry about anyone where you don't know what's happening, but it wasn't great. Advertisement 'Yeah, bunker rakers would have been nice.' Among the reasons cited by Croxton and an R&A spokesman was the desire to eliminate the amount of people — besides players and caddies — inside the ropes. How one person performing a service causes the fairways to look like the M25 loop in London is hard to fathom, especially with so many broadcast partners. Mike Kerr, who first caddied at the Open in 2002, was another who didn't realize there had been a change. He works for Carlos Ortiz and noticed the caddie for Chris Kirk running the plastic rake through the sand on Thursday and looked around for the BIGGA crew. Kerr said it wasn't just a huge perk for caddies for a skilled crew to rake the bunkers. He felt it helped speed play — and keep from being rushed. 'It's so hard when you're trying to figure out the wind and the lie and you've got to the rake the bunker and hurry up to get back to your player,' he said. Brian Harman's caddie, Scott Tway, also was surprised when he saw the caddie for Joaquin Niemann raking a bunker early in the second round. His first thought: 'Where are the rakers?' 'It was nice. It was awesome. I don't know what happened,' Tway said. 'For caddies, that was one of the nicest things about this tournament was not having to rake bunkers.'
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
After more than two decades, there are no dedicated bunker rakers at the British Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – There will be no dedicated bunker rakers at the 2025 British Open Championship at Royal Portrush. 'It's a change for us but we think a good one,' said R&A chief executive Mark Darbon during his Wednesday pre-championship press conference. That is a change of practice for the Open, which for more than two decades has had dedicated rakers from the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) handle these duties. That means caddies will be responsible for the raking, which they do every other week, so none of the caddies who spoke to Golfweek felt it was a big deal. But Billy Horschel, who tied for second last year at Royal Troon and is sidelined from competing this year due to hip surgery, weighed in via social media that he was disappointed. No designated bunker rakers this week is such a disappointment. I know the caddies love them, as well as the players. Very odd decision by the @TheOpen not to have them. @RandA "No designated bunker rakers this week is such a disappointment," he said on X. "I know the caddies love them, as well as the players. Very odd decision by The Open not to have them." When asked why the R&A decided to end BIGGA's role as rakers, which may help with pace of play, Darby said, 'A number of factors. We just think it's a good model for us here at Portrush.'
The Herald Scotland
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow greenkeeper only Scot named to elite golfing squad
The successful applicants selected by the R&A and BIGGA, the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, will join the home greenkeeping teams hosting this summer's R&A championships. These include the 153 Open at Royal Portrush, the Senior Open at Sunningdale, the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's and Royal Cinque Ports, and the Women's Amateur Championship at Nairn. The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2025 is now open, with every club and course in the country invited to submit their views. If your club or organisation has not already received an invitation to take part, please contact 'After an extensive application process, we have selected 10 impressive candidates who will gain a great insight into championship agronomy and greenkeeping at some of our most prestigious R&A Championships and a unique educational experience that will support them in their future careers," said Adam Newton, head of agronomy at the R&A. 'We look forward to developing the programme with BIGGA over future years and ensuring that it represents an aspirational learning experience for its members.' Each member of the programme will be embedded into the home greenkeeping team at one of the championships, while also working alongside the R&A's Championship Agronomy Team. All 10 members of the programme will assemble at Royal Birkdale for an education session, and all will be invited to attend The Open at Royal Portrush where they will learn about course preparation and the staging of a major championship. Read more: Bakery teams up with Scottish Golf for expansion drive BIGGA chief executive Jim Croxton said the emphasis is now on the successful applicants "to make the most" of this professional opportunity. 'BIGGA members have access to an incredible range of exclusive career-development opportunities and I'm convinced that the R&A Championship Agronomy Programme will soon be held among the upper echelons of those," he added. "Our collaboration with the R&A is a real vote of confidence that highlights how well thought-of our members are by the wider industry."
