Rahm approves of player conduct policy for British Open. He also wants attention on slow play

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Player conduct on the golf course has long been part of the Rules of Golf. This is the first time all four majors published their code for the players, and there already have been ramifications.

Sergio Garcia was given a warning at the Masters when he smashed (and broke) his driver twice into the ground and then against a table holding a water cooler.

The USGA opted to bypass the warning and give Joaquin Niemann a two-shot penalty in the first round of the U.S. Open for heaving his wedge on his 15th hole (No. 6) at Shinnecock Hills after twice driving out of bounds and then hitting into thick rough. There were no spectators anywhere near where the club landed in the dunes.

The two-shot penalty turned his 9 into an 11 on the hole and he shot 78. He still tied for seventh.

Is it working?

Jon Rahm, who describes himself as an “intense” player, doesn't mind the code of conduct. His only question is who it gets applied. Because while the principles and penalties are similar at the four majors, it's at the discretion of each one how it gets applied.

“I think it's good. I get it,” Rahm said. “They have a code of conduct and they enforce it. Why not? It's not going to change how I play. To go from zero to a penalty? I don't know.”

The R&A's conduct policy reads: “If a player’s (or their caddie’s) behavior is so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf, in accordance with Rule 1.2b, the Chief Referee, in consultation with the Chief Championships Officer, may issue an official warning or apply a penalty of two strokes or disqualification, taking account of the frequency, impact or potential impact, intent and severity of the misconduct. An official warning does not need to be given prior to applying a penalty of two strokes or disqualification.”

Rahm was playing with Garcia when he lost his temper in the final round at Augusta National. He still doesn't know exactly what happened with Niemann. But his views on the policy made him wonder why this was getting more attention than pace of play.

“Sergio received a warning. I think Joaco maybe deserved a warning — I don't know what he did," Rahm said. “With all the policies we have on pace play, you get a warning, another warning and then you MIGHT get a penalty.”

Rahm suggested a warning was warranted on the first offense, especially in the first round.

Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut at the first three majors this year. Nick Faldo wouldn’t be surprised if the American failed to make the weekend at the British Open, too.

“I’d say it to his face — DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy,” the three-time Open champion said on the Sky Sports Golf podcast.

Faldo questioned DeChambeau’s attacking approach in links golf, saying he needed more creativity and to “look at humps and bumps.

“You don’t think: ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there. Can’t see where I’m going,’” Faldo said.

DeChambeau has two top-10 finishes in eight appearances at the Open Championship, including a tie for 10th at Royal Portrush last year.

Justin Rose tied for fourth as a 17-year-old amateur in the 1998 British Open at Royal Birkdale and turned pro a week later.

He famously missed 20 cuts in a row when he turned pro. He has only one major, the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. That’s among his 25 victories worldwide, which includes an Olympic gold medal when golf returned to the Olympic program in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

He was asked Tuesday if this is what he imagined when he left Royal Birkdale 28 years ago. It’s impossible to answer, and Rose eventually said he would stand pat with what he has done.

“Twenty-eight years later I’m playing in The Open Championship,” he said. “If I think about that, that’s still an amazing achievement, just to have the will to keep wanting to be here.

“Could I have won more of what I’ve already won? Yes. Would I love to be a multiple major champion? Yes. Do I feel I could have pushed towards close to a Grand slam? Yes. I’ve had results that nearly put me in that realm. So a little bit of luck here and there, I could be sitting here with a very different career.”

But he was happy with the career he has, which includes five stints at No. 1 in the world. And his hope is being comfortable with all that he’s achieved gives him freedom to achieve more.

The wait goes on for Rory McIlroy, one of Britain’s greatest ever sports stars, to receive a knighthood.

“If that honor were bestowed on me one day,” McIlroy said Tuesday, “that would be amazing.”

So what’s the holdup? After all, it’s more than a year since he won the Masters to become the only European golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.

Sections of the British media have reported that a tax issue might be the reason and that was put to McIlroy at his news conference.

“I have no idea,” he said.

Nick Faldo, who also has six major titles, has been knighted.

The British Open has increased its prize fund to $17.5 million, remaining as the lowest purse among the four majors after having the smallest increase of the majors.

The Masters increased it purse by $1.5 million to $22.5 million. The PGA Championship also had a $1.5 million bump to $20.5 million. The U.S. Open increased its purse by $1 million to $22.5 million.

The R&A announced a $750,000 increase in its purse, with $3.2 million for the winner, $100,000 more than Scottie Scheffler won last year.

Sam Burns, the runner-up at the U.S. Open, was at Royal Birkdale on Monday for the British Open. The original plan was to skip the final major because of the due date of his wife's second child. Their daughter was born the first week in July, and Burns made the trip. ... Scottie Scheffler is legendary for wanting to dress like a PGA Tour player when he was a boy, and he always wore pants to look the part, even in the summer heat of Dallas. He wore shorts during practice at the British Open. “I'd like to think I've gotten less dumb since I was a kid,” Scheffler said. “One good decision I made is to start wearing shorts every now and then when it's hot out.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Scottie Scheffler of the United States laughs during a press conference ahead of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland speaks at a press conference ahead of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Justin Rose of England gestures that his shot from the 1st tee has gone left, during a practice round for the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Spectators line up to get an autograph from Bryson DeChambeau of the United States, during a practice round for the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Jon Rahm of Spain speaks at a press conference ahead of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

NEW YORK (AP) — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is suing the federal government and several private groups, alleging they were part of a conspiracy to suppress criticism of Israel through a campaign to dox, jail and ultimately deport student activists.

The civil rights suit, filed Tuesday, names the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as the architect of what it describes as a conspiracy to target members of the pro-Palestinian movement by smearing them as antisemites.

Those efforts were furthered by Canary Mission and Betar, two pro-Israel groups that maintain online lists of Israel's critics, often alongside unsubstantiated claims that they are affiliated with Hamas, according to the lawsuit.

Those “selected for state targeting” by the private actors, the suit states, “were nearly automatically targeted by the Federal Defendants for arrest and removal.”

Lawyers for Khalil argue this “public-private partnership” could violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law that sought to restrict government coordination with vigilante groups.

Emailed inquiries to the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, did not comment on the lawsuit, but said in an email that the executive branch “has the lawful authority to take actions that will protect the public and to ensure the integrity of our immigration system.”

The lawsuit comes as Khalil's ongoing deportation case appears likely to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. Many of the details included in the complaint were first brought to light in a separate trial last year.

At a news conference on Tuesday, he said the lawsuit was “about exposing the network of organizations, particular actors and institutions that work together to criminalize solidarity with Palestine and to make an example of those who refuse to stay silent."

“If constitutional protections can be cast aside under political pressure today, they can be cast aside tomorrow against anyone,” he added.

A former graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil gained prominence as a spokesperson and leader for student activists protesting against Israel and its actions in Gaza.

He was arrested in March 2025 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in his campus apartment. He quickly became the face of the Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Khalil then spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child, before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release.

Khalil has forcefully denied that his role in pro-Palestinian protests amounts to antisemitism.

“My beliefs are not wanting my tax money or tuition going toward investments in weapons manufacturers for a genocide,” he previously told The Associated Press. “It’s as simple as that.”

FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)