PGA Tour to Add Fan 'Ambassadors' in 2027 Code of Conduct Rewrite

The PGA Tour is rewriting its fan code of conduct for the 2027 season, adding trained gallery volunteers and new tools to track online harassment aimed at players. Andy Levinson, the Tour's senior vice president of tournament administration, outlined the changes at the Tour Championship in late August.

What is changing in the PGA Tour's fan code of conduct?

The rewrite has three parts. Trained volunteer "ambassadors" will work galleries to flag problem behavior to security. The Tour is also rewriting the written code itself and building new programs to monitor fan harassment that starts on-course and continues online.

The current code already allows the Tour to eject fans without a refund for yelling, heckling, throwing objects, rude comments or gestures, or otherwise disrupting competition. Scott Warfield, the Tour's vice president of gaming, said the online-tracking idea came out of player feedback gathered over the summer. "One is one too many for us," he said, describing the Tour's stance on gambling-related fan incidents.

"One is one too many for us."

What prompted the rewrite?

The review follows a season of betting-linked heckling. During the final round of the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, fans rooting against eventual champion Wyndham Clark shouted for his shots to miss, and police removed some spectators. Jordan Spieth raised the incident weeks later at the John Deere Classic, saying he could not tell how much of it was tied to fans who had bet against Clark.

In February, at the WM Phoenix Open, an influencer paid a fan $100 to yell during Mackenzie Hughes's backswing; both were ejected. Matt Fitzpatrick said in July at Royal Birkdale that every professional golfer who has played a tournament has received a gambling-related abusive message, and the R&A introduced its own fan code of conduct at that Open Championship.

Is betting really the main driver of bad fan behavior?

Not by the Tour's own numbers. Warfield said fewer than 5% of fan ejections this season were tied to sports betting. The PGA Tour holds official sponsorship deals with sportsbooks DraftKings and FanDuel, and currently has no partnership with a prediction-market operator while regulatory questions involving the CFTC and individual states remain unresolved.