PATRICK REED showed two fingers to golf's rulers, turning up at The Open wearing gear with LIV branding.

The 150th Open Championship begins at St Andrews today. It is clear that the bitter row between St Andrews chiefs, and the Saudi rebels, is not going anywhere.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of R&A, revealed that they will make it more difficult for LIV players in the future.

Reed, a former Masters champion, reportedly paid PS50million for the breakaway tour. He also got a cap and shirt.

Slumbers stated: "We all understand the disruption men's professional golf faces and the potential impact it might have on the structure the game.

"Professional golfers have the right to choose where to play and accept any prize money. That is something I don't mind at all. There is no free lunch.

"I believe that the model we saw at Centurion (the first two LIV events), is not in the long-term best interests of the sport and is driven entirely by money.

"We think it is a violation of the spirit of open competition and merit-based culture that make golf so special.

"I believe that the constant commentary that this is about growing our game is not credible. If anything, it is hurting the perception of our sport, which we have worked so hard to improve.

"We believe that the game should focus on increasing participation and achieving greater diversity. We want to make sure that golf is truly accessible to all players, not just a narrow debate between a few.

"We have been asked a lot about banning players as we look ahead to The Open next season. Let me be clear. This is not on our agenda.

"But, what's on our agenda? We will review our exemptions & qualifications criteria for The Open.

"We reserve the right to make any changes that our Open Championships Committee considers necessary. The Open is a unique and fundamentally global sport. Players must earn their spot.

This is a major blow to LIV and Greg Norman, the double Open winner, who was expelled from the Champions Dinner and Champions Challenge held to celebrate the 150th Open.

The Open's biggest exemption category is for the 50 highest-ranked players in May. LIV Golf must be allowed to award ranking points.

Slumbers stated that they hadn't considered changing the qualification rules for this year because they were established long before LIV started recruiting Reed and other American Major winners Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

Slumbers also added: We will remain true to The Open being available to everyone.

"But we might well look at how to get in that, whether it be an exemption or a necessity to go through our qualifying processes."