Golf's Gambling Problem: Fitzpatrick Warns of Betting Abuse at The Open

Gambling is becoming a serious problem in professional golf, according to Matt Fitzpatrick, who said on 14 July 2026 that betting-driven abuse of players is now routine and that the sport is uniquely easy to influence with a single shout during a swing. Speaking ahead of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the 2022 US Open champion joined Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark in warning that the rapid growth of golf betting is changing crowd behaviour and raising integrity questions the game has not fully confronted.

Fitzpatrick's comments, made at his pre-tournament press conference in Southport, land in the same week that the R&A introduced a new spectator code of conduct for The Open, its clearest signal yet that fan behaviour at golf's biggest events has become a live problem rather than a fringe concern.

Key facts

• Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, called gambling-related abuse "definitely becoming a problem" at his pre-Open press conference on 14 July 2026, according to Golf Monthly and RTE.
• Jordan Spieth said earlier this month at the John Deere Classic that "betting in golf is something that's going to have to be tackled here soon," per Golf Digest.
• The R&A launched "The Open Commitment," a new spectator code of conduct, on 8 July 2026, and warned that fans who breach it can be removed from Royal Birkdale.
• The Masters was Entain's fourth-largest betting event of 2025, behind only the Grand National, the Super Bowl and the UEFA Champions League final, according to SBC News.

What did Matt Fitzpatrick say about gambling in golf?

Fitzpatrick said gambling-related abuse of players has become common and is now a genuine problem for the sport. "It's definitely becoming a problem and the issue is, particularly in golf, it would be very easy to influence a bet," he told reporters at Royal Birkdale. He linked the rise in abusive messages directly to money changing hands on individual shots and outcomes.

He was blunt about how widespread the abuse has become. "I would say every golfer that's played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling," Fitzpatrick said. He added that he does not gamble himself: "I don't condone gambling in the slightest, and it's not really for me."

Why is golf especially vulnerable to betting influence?

Golf is unusually exposed because a spectator can affect the outcome of a bet with a single disruptive act. Unlike team sports played at speed, golf depends on silence and concentration at the precise moment a player swings or putts, which means a shout at the wrong instant can plausibly swing a shot, a hole and a wager.

"It would be very easy to influence a bet, whether it's you're shouting on someone's backswing, shouting on a putting stroke," Fitzpatrick said. That vulnerability is what separates golf's problem from the general online abuse seen elsewhere in sport: the same crowds who place in-play bets are physically close enough to the players to affect the result.

What did Jordan Spieth say, and who else has spoken out?

Fitzpatrick is not the first to raise the alarm. Jordan Spieth, a three-time major winner, said at the John Deere Classic that "betting in golf is something that's going to have to be tackled here soon," framing it as an issue the PGA Tour will have to address directly rather than hope fades on its own.

Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion, has also pointed to betting as a driver of crowd behaviour, saying it is "definitely one of the factors" and that abusive interactions happen "all the time." The consistency of the message across multiple major champions is what has moved the conversation from anecdote toward an accepted problem inside the locker room.

What is "The Open Commitment" fan code of conduct?

The Open Commitment is a new spectator code of conduct the R&A unveiled on 8 July 2026, built around asking fans to respect the players, respect the links, respect each other, stay aware of their surroundings and enjoy the event responsibly. The R&A has said breaches can lead to ejection, communicating the terms through ticketing, digital channels and on-site signage at Royal Birkdale.

The policy follows a run of high-profile incidents, including the treatment of Wyndham Clark during his US Open appearances, and represents the governing body formally acknowledging that spectator conduct at The Open needs guardrails. It arrives at the same moment senior players are naming betting as a root cause.

How big has golf betting become?

Golf now sits among the marquee betting events on the calendar. The Masters ranked as Entain's fourth-largest betting event of 2025, trailing only the Grand National, the Super Bowl and the UEFA Champions League final, according to SBC News. That places a single golf tournament ahead of most of the football, racing and combat sports fixtures on a major operator's book.

As handle on golf has grown, so has the volume of live, shot-by-shot markets, and with them the incentive for aggrieved bettors to lash out at players who cost them money. The commercial success of golf betting and the abuse problem are two sides of the same trend.

Which golfers and tours have betting sponsors?

Golf's relationship with the betting industry is now deeply commercial, which complicates any crackdown. Bookmakers sponsor the tours themselves, and individual stars carry sportsbook deals, meaning the money that funds parts of the professional game comes from the same industry players are now criticising.

Deal	Partner	Year
PGA Tour betting partner	bet365	2022
DP World Tour betting partner	OlyBet	2023
Player endorsement	Jordan Spieth and FanDuel	2021
Player endorsement	Bryson DeChambeau and DraftKings	2020

These arrangements come with limits. PGA Tour betting deals such as the bet365 partnership are focused on international markets rather than US operations, and European events cannot display gambling brands in countries with advertising restrictions, with Italy banning sports betting sponsorships outright. The web of betting sponsorships across sport is already under fresh regulatory scrutiny.

Is this abuse unique to golf?

No, betting-fuelled abuse of athletes is a cross-sport problem, but golf's format sharpens it. Fitzpatrick placed the issue in a wider context. "You just look at all the messages people get, footballers, tennis players, you name it, everyone's getting messages of, 'oh, you missed that penalty; you cost me this,'" he said.

Football and tennis have wrestled with the same wave of online abuse tied to in-play markets, and both have introduced monitoring and reporting programmes. Golf's added risk is the live, in-person element, where a fan with a losing bet is standing yards from the player rather than posting from a sofa.

What are the integrity risks for golf betting?

The core integrity risk is that easily influenced outcomes plus heavy in-play betting create both temptation and suspicion. If a shout on a backswing can move a result, then the line between a rowdy fan and deliberate interference becomes hard to police, and every unusual outcome invites scrutiny. Governing bodies across sport have tightened sports betting integrity monitoring precisely because betting volume magnifies these questions.

Golf has so far avoided a major match-fixing scandal, but the combination of low-scoring markets, prop bets on individual holes and a sport built on the honour code leaves it exposed if the current growth in wagering continues unchecked.

How are the PGA Tour and DP World Tour responding?

The tours are caught between betting revenue and player welfare. Both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour hold sportsbook partnerships and count on betting engagement to grow audiences, yet their own players are now publicly asking for the issue to be tackled. That tension is the central dilemma: the same commercial relationships that professionalise the sport also feed the behaviour players are complaining about.

So far the clearest institutional response has come from the R&A with The Open Commitment, rather than from the tours themselves. Spieth's call for the problem to be "tackled" is effectively a request for the tours to move from partnership deals to a welfare and integrity framework.

"I would say every golfer that's played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling." Matt Fitzpatrick, 2022 US Open champion, speaking at Royal Birkdale on 14 July 2026.

What does it mean for The Open at Royal Birkdale this week?

For this week's championship, the practical effect is a stricter behavioural line and a higher chance of ejections. Fans arriving at Royal Birkdale will encounter the new code across signage and ticketing, and marshals will be empowered to remove anyone who crosses it. Players, meanwhile, have signalled they will call out abuse rather than absorb it quietly.

The bigger significance is symbolic. When multiple major champions and the sport's oldest governing body describe the same problem in the same week, betting's impact on golf has moved from a talking point to an agenda item.

What happens next?

Expect the pressure to build on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to match the R&A's move with their own welfare and integrity measures. The likely next steps include clearer reporting tools for players facing abuse, tighter enforcement at events and a harder look at how in-play and prop markets on individual golfers are offered. Whether that arrives before a serious incident, rather than after one, is the question players are now asking out loud.

Frequently asked questions

What did Matt Fitzpatrick say about gambling in golf?

Fitzpatrick said gambling is "definitely becoming a problem" in golf and that "every golfer that's played a professional tournament" has received betting-related abuse. He also warned that a fan could easily influence a bet by shouting during a swing or putt.

Why is golf especially exposed to betting-related abuse?

Golf relies on silence at the moment of a shot, so a single disruptive spectator can plausibly affect an outcome and therefore a wager. That makes in-person interference a bigger risk than in faster team sports.

What is The Open Commitment?

The Open Commitment is a spectator code of conduct the R&A introduced on 8 July 2026, asking fans to respect players, the course and each other, and warning that breaches can result in ejection from Royal Birkdale.

Have other golfers raised concerns about betting?

Yes. Jordan Spieth said at the John Deere Classic that betting in golf will "have to be tackled here soon," and Wyndham Clark has described betting as one of the factors behind poor crowd behaviour.

How big is golf as a betting market?

Golf is now a marquee betting event. The Masters was Entain's fourth-largest betting event of 2025, behind only the Grand National, the Super Bowl and the UEFA Champions League final.

Updated July 2026. This is an industry news report for readers aged 18 and over and is not betting advice. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, support is available through national responsible gambling services.

Sources: Golf Monthly, Golf Digest, Golf Channel and SBC News.