The BBC has announced that from 2016 it will only be showing highlights of the The Open and not live coverage of the event.

The move will save the corporation approximately £10 million per year.  

Golf's governing body, the R&A, has awarded the contract to Sky Sports. The sports channel agreed to cover the live broadcast of The Open, a year earlier than expected. 

While the news might upset some fans, BBC director of sport, Barbara Slater, said: "The BBC is faced with some challenging financial savings targets. Sport on the BBC is not immune to those pressures and they are compounded by the highly inflationary nature of the rights market."

The BBC has broadcast The Open golf tournament for the past 60 years.

Sky Sports’ coverage of the golf will begin with The 145th Open from Royal Troon next summer.

The channel already broadcasts four major golf tournaments including the Ryder Cup and the PGA Tour.

Photo by Jenni Douglas