Canadian golf fans woke up early Thursday morning to watch the final major of the year. Instead, they got a golf instruction show. For the second consecutive year.

The problem came from the Canadian TV side. First- and second-round coverage in Canada was supposed to air on Golf Channel. But several cable providers and local affiliates appear to have left the regular feed running instead of switching over to live golf from Birkdale.

Coleman Bentley in Golf Digest reported, "The confusing part is that large Canadian cable providers like Bell and Rogers have the rights to air the Open Championship. It was even listed on Golf Channel's schedule as airing, but several local affiliates simply forgot to switch over to the Open feed."

Bentley added in the same Golf Digest report: " Some viewers on X claimed their outage lasted for up to five hours before it was fixed."

It's the same broadcast blunder, the same cable providers, and — per some fans — maybe not even the second time. Some viewers on X insisted this is actually the third straight year they've dealt with a scrambled feed during the Open's overnight opening hours.

TSN's senior golf analyst Bob Weeks was among the first to voice frustration. He noted on X that it wasn't just Rogers — several other Canadian providers had also failed to flip the switch despite the Open being clearly listed on the schedule.

Rogers eventually acknowledged the issue through its official support account on X. They issued an official statement apologizing for the mishap and worked with broadcast partners to ensure the automation profiles were permanently corrected before Round 2 got underway.

One fan summed up the mood, replying to them: "Just fix it already, it's been 5 hours."

The American Fans Had Their Own Complaint

American viewers did not have the same problem, but they were not exactly happy either. Instead of missing the golf, many of them were annoyed by how often NBC and USA Network cut away for commercials.

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall wrote from the media center at Royal Birkdale that Sky Sports had shown continuous coverage in one stretch while NBC and USA Network went to ads three times in the same span.

The U.S. broadcasting faced this complaint all year. Fans complained about a similar issue during this year's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

So no, American fans don't have it easy either. But there's a meaningful difference between 'too many commercials' and 'no tournament at all'. At least the Americans could see the golf.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida