I Spent 12 Hours At The Open... Fan Behaviour Was Wildly Different To The US Open

As a golf fan, attending the Open Championship is the pinnacle. I’d love the chance to attend The Masters at Augusta National one day, but The Open Championship has always had a special place in my heart.

I attended Royal Birkdale for the final round of The Open in 2017, on the day that Jordan Spieth conjured that magical shot from the driving range to kickstart his charge for the Claret Jug, so having the chance to go again this week felt like a great opportunity to build on some special memories.

Royal Birkdale was burnt out and challenging for most, which created palpable tension from the players as they navigated their way through the dunes.

The eyes of the golfing world will have been on the players in the field this week, in the light of recent penalties for player behaviour, but the general report was wholly positive.

It’s not just the players that faced increased attention, however, and I was interested to see how fans behaved themselves after recent criticisms about spectator conduct at the 2026 US Open… but I was pleased to find that it was wildly different.

Fan Behaviour At The Open Was Wildly Different To The US Open

It’s important to caveat this opinion with the fact that I attended on Thursday, where the jeopardy and tensions are perhaps reduced in comparison to Championship Sunday.

Irrespective of that sidenote, I was thoroughly impressed with the way fans conducted themselves at Royal Birkdale in the twelve hours I was there.

I arrived early, around 7.30am, to watch the first few groups head out on their opening round. The atmosphere was fantastic. There was a bubbling excitement that slowly built throughout the day, but the initial proceedings were intimate.

A few people lined the fairways, the galleries of fans were silent and respectful as the players hit and the applause was genuinely delivered by a captivated audience.

By the time I got to hole number seven, the tough par-3, the numbers on the ground had begun to swell. Grandstands were filling up and rows of fans around the green were now three deep in places.

That, however, did not change attitudes. It never ceases to amaze me the incredible sense of serenity offered by the collective silence of a vast number of people in unison, all there to appreciate the mastery of these incredible athletes.

By hole nine, it was time for a break. The sun was beating down already and there was very little shade to be found, so a coffee and some breakfast was needed.

The fan areas were well furnished and screens allowed you to keep up with the action while temporarily away from the action.

The line at the official merchandise shop was beginning to snake and the fan zone on the old driving range by the 13th fairway was filling up nicely.

This was the first time I noticed alcohol being consumed on the day, although I am sure it would have been much earlier, but people were in good spirits and enjoying the company of others alongside the golf.

I was surprised how social it felt in the fan zones. Maybe it was the fact it was hosted in the north of England, where I believe people are a little more friendly as a matter of course.

We mixed with a few different groups of people and shared benches in the fan zone during nourishment breaks or to rest our already weary feet - and not once did I see any unruly or undesirable behaviour.

There was no jeering or heckling, with the roars from the crowd reserved for local favorite Tommy Fleetwood whenever he did anything remotely positive on the course.

After walking on a little further into the back nine, I decided to sit and take stock of the tough par-5 14th in the huge grandstand at the back of the green.

The pace of play was a little slow at this point, so it would have been easy for the masses to become irritable when not seeing any golf for six or seven minutes at a time in the searing midday heat.

That really wasn’t the reality, however. Perhaps the newly introduced fan code of conduct was helping, as there was a large marshall presence (all of whom were very friendly and accommodating) and there was complete ban on alcohol in the grandstands.

That may have confined any lager louts in attendance to the fan zone and away from the course, which is interestingly also the only place you could get phone signal or WiFi - an interesting (commercial) decision from the organisers, perhaps?

Anyway, I won’t go on a rant about that because I want to be clear about how positive the day was.

I was concerned that the new par-3 15th, which has a huge corporate hospitality stand at the back of the green, had the potential in my opinion to spoil the wholly positive atmosphere - but I was wrong, it only added to it.

On-demand alcohol and indulgence, mixed with a varied fanbase that will naturally include some that aren’t die hard golf fans, could have been a recipe for disaster - but it actually created a coliseum of encouragement, support and a wall of rapturous noise.

The decibels increased markedly when Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy entered the arena, with their entourage of fans dwarfing the galleries in any other area of the course, and Tommy was very complimentary about the fans and their support (which you can hear about in the video below).

The contingent of American superstars like Scheffler, DeChambeau and Reed were also well followed, with the crowds in awe of the skill displayed by the World No.1 in the opening stages of his first round.

We even saw some great banter between Argentinian golfer Mateo Pulcini and the English fans after the Argentinian national football team knocked England out of the World Cup in the semi-finals the night before - showing how the relationship between fans and players can dynamically switch without becoming toxic.

As the beer kegs emptied throughout the day and the number of pints consumed grew, I was conscious behaviour might take a turn for the worse.

There were a fair few attendees who will likely have a sore head this morning, but bar seeing a smattering passed out asleep on some giant bean bags in the sun that basked the fan zone, my fears were not realised.

The closing stretch is tough for the players, but stunning to look at.

The grandstands at the sides of the 18th green are seriously impressive. Royal Birkdale’s cool clubhouse is perched atop a slope at the back of the green and the members enjoyed the view from their private terrace.

I made it into the grandstand at 18 later in the evening, just in time to see the big names come through to finish their round.

The sun was going down, the golden hour glow illuminated the beauty of Birkdale and Rory McIlroy flushed an approach shot to within five feet.

The noise was intoxicating, but also completely celebratory. Even Wyndham Clark, who received despicable treatment by fans at the US Open, was clapped and cheered as if he was a local boy from the north west of England.

It didn’t matter who you were, in fact. Amateur, professional, big name or relatively unknown - the Royal Birkdale crowds gave them a pat on the back and a piece of their support.

That is wildly different to the scenes we saw at the US Open. The example set at the Open Championship is one that the world of golf should take note of, because it proves a simple fact - it’s not difficult to be a good, nice, respectful person and enjoy one of the greatest spectacles in our sport.

Well done to The Open for their insistence on standards, well done to Royal Birkdale for providing a great environment to watch top level golf and well done to the fans for putting your best foot forward - let’s keep it up for the remainder of the week.