The R&A have today announced a new five-year deal that will see Sky take over from BBC as the exclusive rights holders to live coverage of the Open Championship from 2017. The BBC will only have rights to a highlights package.
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The BBC have been broadcasting the Open for the last 60 years, and the dulcet tones of Peter Alliss and features like Ken Brown on the course have done much to maintain an interest in the sport as playing numbers decline in the UK and Ireland.
This new deal will place golf behind pay tv and will mean that a lot of potential golfers will now not be drawn to the sport.
Read the letter from R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson here
