The Open Championship is back on our screens and once again this week we've been reminded of how special golf's oldest Major is.
The championship brings a close to the men's Major season to offer players a final chance of writing their names into the history books before the long wait until Augusta next April.
Having seen the three men's Majors so far this year, The Open gives us a fresh perspective to look back on what we've watched in 2024 and pick out which parts we love the most - and which we'd also like to see the others adopt.
Here are 3 things in particular that should, if possible, be copied:
The coverage
The coverage of The Open is far and away the best of the four men's Majors. We've enjoyed watching Live on the Range all week from Royal Troon, where we get to hear from players, watch them warm up and even watch and hear from them out in their practice rounds.
The first tee shot was shown live on YouTube and coverage lasts from 6.30am local time all the way up until around 9pm. It's unparalleled. The PGA and US Open show their first tee shots but sometimes you have to go out of your way to find them online or on special streams, whilst The Open goes live straight away on the main coverage.
The R&A's 'Inside The Open' is also the best content from all four Majors, with no commentary footage following players around the locker room, practice grounds and course. It's true 'fly on the wall' stuff with some great behind-the-scenes looks. The concept is so simple yet so captivating and I always find myself gutted when it comes to an end.
This is something I'd especially love The Masters to copy.
There's also Open Radio, too, which is another excellent broadcast service. Bravo the R&A, great job.
One thing it doesn't have is the ability to watch every single shot like The Masters does. When it comes to the best two content elements of the Majors, it's the R&A's Inside The Open and The Masters' app and website where you can go back through every single shot from every single player.
This sadly isn't possible just yet in the other three Majors due to The Masters always having the smallest field by some margin, meaning costs would likely be too high to get cameras out for every single shot.
If only they could save money somewhere to invest it back into making their events better...
The prize money
Martin Slumbers really made a stand this week on prize money at The Open, refusing to be drawn into golf's money battles and needlessly raising the prize fund to around the $20m mark like the other Majors to try and compete with the PGA Tour's Signature Events and LIV Golf tournaments.
The Open prize money payout of $17m is far and away the smallest of the four men's Major purses and is even $8m shy of The Players Championship.
Yet who really cares? The players are defined by Major championships so perhaps this is something the others should copy. The Masters had a $20m fund this year. If they reduced it to $17m, would nobody turn up? Of course not.
Maybe it's time for the other Majors to make a stand and follow the R&A's lead and save themselves money to invest elsewhere.
The one-tee start
Granted, The Masters does this too and that's easily done due to its small field, but how cool is it to see players go off one-after-another from the 1st tee all day?
Two-tee starts are commonplace on the PGA Tour so a two-tee start at the PGA Championship and US Open perhaps make them feel a little less special.
The Open is blessed with long days due to taking place in the UK in July but if it's possible, it's something I'd love to see in the other Majors too to ensure everyone starts on the 1st and finishes on the 18th.
Could the PGA and US Open get underway at 6.35am in rounds one and two? It'd be cool if they could.
