Open Championship

Guard hurt in Open golf buggy crash

ESPN staff

July 17, 2014

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after he took a golf buggy from Royal Liverpool Golf Club and drove it into a security guard at The Open in Hoylake.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, just as players were coming in from the final practice day before the tournament, which got underway this morning.

Police confirmed a 45-year-old man had been arrested after he collided with a security guard outside Royal Liverpool's gate four, before crashing the buggy into a bank.

"We can confirm that a man has been arrested following an incident at The Open golf practice day in Hoylake at about 7:30 p.m. this evening," police said in a statement. "One man was arrested on suspicion of assault... Just before colliding with the barrier the buggy caught a security guard causing a slight injury to his leg."

Pictures of the buggy, owned by Open organisers the Royal & Ancient, appeared on Twitter, showing it abandoned on a banking outside the gate.

Drama at #TheOpen as a group of people have just crashed a golf buggy after driving through exit gate 4 pic.twitter.com/IcRCnDkNaJ
— Rob Pattinson (@rpattinson83) July 16, 2014

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of championships at the R&A, said: "Police are now investigating and I cannot say any more at this time."

It is the second incident of a wayward golf buggy at consecutive majors. At the US Open in June, a man who drove an NBC Sports pundit's buggy at Pinehurst was charged with assaulting a police officer on the course.