After 60 years the BBC has lost the broadcast rights for The Open to Sky Sports.
The BBC will no longer be showing the world's oldest golf tournament as Sky Sports have won a rights deal to broadcast The Open from 2017.
Sky will pay £15m a year in their new deal for the Open
It is not the first golfing event Sky have the rights to as they already have rights to both European and PGA tour coverage as well as having the rights to the Ryder Cup, The US Open, The PGA and The Masters. Sky have even committed to the PGA in a deal lasting until 2022.
Golf programming at the BBC has been reduced since 2010 - when Sky won a rights deal for split coverage of The Masters with the BBC.
The BBC, which has shown the tournament for 60 years, will stop broadcasting The Open in full after next year's event, but will continue to show highlights.
More of the BBC's sports focus has moved elsewhere including keeping the rights to Premier League highlights and the continuation of Match of the Day.
Peter Dawson, the CEO of the R&A has said that the decision "will allow golf's oldest championship to maintain its position as one of the world's premier sporting events."
By Alastair Ballantyne