Nick Faldo has clear solution for 'disgusting' issue ahead of The Open

Nick Faldo has explained his solution for one of golf's biggest problems ahead of The Open.

In the final major of 2026, 156 players will participate at The Open between July 16 and 19.

Scottie Scheffler is the favourite to defend his crown at Royal Birkdale after winning the tournament in 2025, while several others - including Rory McIlroy - are strong contenders to lift the iconic Claret Jug.

McIlroy has only tasted one major victory in 2026, but it was arguably the biggest one after winning successive Masters titles at Augusta National, with his first and only triumph at the Open Championship coming in 2014.

As excitement builds for one of the most prestigious tournaments in the golfing calendar, the R&A released a new code of conduct for fans attending the event next weekend.

"The code of conduct is clearly meant to avoid a repeat of some of the scenes witnessed at Royal Liverpool in 2023 when Brian Harman, who went on to lift the Claret Jug, was the subject of repeated attempts to put him off through jeering, while some of the gallery was clearly intoxicated," a statement read.

At the 2025 Ryder Cup, European players, including Shane Lowry and McIlroy, faced intense personal insults and the latter even had a drink thrown at him by a spectator.

This sort of behaviour from fans has no place in the sport, and the R&A asks that fans respect the players, stay aware of their surroundings and drink responsibly.

Sir Nick Faldo has even offered his verdict on the unsavoury scenes he witnessed at the Ryder Cup, labelling the behaviour of fans as "disgusting" while blaming PGA America for not dealing with the abuse targeted at Team Europe.

"Absolutely disgusting,” Faldo said in an interview with Today's Golfer. “And I blame the PGA of America, because they knew it was coming. We sat in meetings and they were always like, ‘We will deal with it.’ They didn’t deal with it. They wanted it to put Europe off.

“Those players were worn out having to deal with that. But, hey, that’s what losers do, isn’t it? If you’re a loser, you scream at somebody who’s successful because you’re never going to be successful."

Europe ended up winning the 45th Ryder Cup 15-13 in September, but the abuse they received tarnished an excellent victory.

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Nick Faldo offers clear solution to fan abuse ahead of The Open

While the R&A have created a code of conduct, more has to be done to stop this behaviour from happening in the future.

And Faldo, a six-time major winner, has urged spectators to be fined if they are ejected from the course.

"I think it should be in black and white, bold, block capital letters that if you are ejected you will be fined ‘X’ amount – five thousand dollars or something," the 68-year-old said.

"Make it a serious number where they go, ‘Hang on, I don’t want to get thrown out and it cost me five grand.’ I don’t know if they can do that legally, but put the stiffest penalty available to you. At Augusta, they know they will not get a ticket again. Simple as that."

The Englishman has even said that this toxicity from fans at tournaments is completely "new" and isn't something he faced during his career.

"The worst we had was you would be on the green and could hear someone whispering, ‘Three-putt! Three-putt! Three-putt!’" Faldo exclaimed.

"If anyone did shout anything, it really stood out. But it was just knuckleheads who think it’s clever.”

The Open begins next week, and hopefully, fans can enjoy watching golf in the sunshine without any issues.