The chief executive of the R&A, one of the most powerful bodies in golf, has warned that the sport must be careful to ensure that prize money increases are sustainable, following inflationary pressures stirred by Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Mark Darbon, who has led the R&A since November 2024, warned that golf must take heed of the lessons of English rugby, where clubs became known for increasing wages for players beyond what revenues could support.
“There has been huge inflation in prize money in recent years and we’ve got to be very thoughtful about that as we look to the future,” Darbon told the FT.
“Every extra dollar we put into the prize purse, quite frankly, is a dollar that comes out of the amount that we’re able to reinvest back into the sport,” he added. “So we are very sensitive to that. We want to reward the players but we want to do so in a sensible fashion.”
Previously CEO of the Northampton Saints, the Premiership Rugby club, Darbon has taken on one of the most important roles in golf. The R&A governs the game outside the US and Mexico and runs The Open, the only golf major outside the US.
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No prize money was offered in the first three editions of The Open. In 1863, a total purse of £10 was shared. Last year, The Open’s prize pool totalled $17 million (€14.5 million), unchanged from 2024 but up almost 48 per cent from 2021, the year LIV launched.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has backed away from LIV, which earmarked $470 million for prize money in its 2026 season.
The Open typically generates 80 per cent of the R&A’s revenue, allowing it to invest big sums into the game. Accounts for R&A Trust Company (No.1) showed total revenues of more than £155 million in 2024 and a net profit of £5.2 million.
Unveiling the R&A’s new five-year strategy, Darbon set out plans to encourage 22 million more people to play the game and generate more than £1.5 billion in economic benefit from its championships, including the AIG Women’s Open.
As amateur participation in golf booms, Darbon said the R&A was exploring whether it had a role to play in new formats. These range from golf simulators that mimic the game using screens and technology indoors to driving ranges and adventure golf games in themed settings and environments.
Beyond governance, Darbon said one question was whether the R&A could have the equivalent of an Open Championship for simulator golf — “whether that’s at the elite professional level or whether that is at the more recreational or pathway level”.
Darbon said that while traditional golf was still growing, more “people are engaging with the sport through new and emerging formats than they are through nine- and 18-hole golf traditional formats.” He added: “Our view at the R&A is that all golf is golf.”
Darbon’s office overlooks the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland, which will host the 155th Open in 2027.
The sport’s oldest Major championship is a coveted event. President Trump wants the R&A to bring The Open back to his Turnberry course for the first time since 2009.
Darbon has described the obstacles to Turnberry in logistical terms. Transport links and infrastructure need to be upgraded for it to hold an event that hosted 278,000 people at Royal Portrush, a record outside St Andrews.
“We remain thoughtful about the challenges that that venue presents to us, whilst recognising it’s a wonderful golf course,” Darbon said.
Last month Darbon said feasibility work on the potential of Portmarnock Golf Club in Co Dublin becoming the first venue outside of the UK to play host to the Open remains ongoing and that he expects to have further clarity on the matter “by the back end of the year”. Darbon said he remained “cautiously optimistic” about the potential to take the AIG Women’s Open and The Open to Portmarnock in the future. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026