HOYLAKE, England -- Old Tom Morris would barely recognize the British Open these days. Its one thing for golf to evolve from gutta percha to polyurethane, from niblicks to hybrids, from hickory to graphite. Now the British Open is all about LED screens, apps and routers. Yes, there are wireless routers affixed to every grandstand at Royal Liverpool. Leave it to the Royal & Ancient to be on the cutting edge of digital technology among major championships. The British Open is believed to be the first major golf event to offer wireless in every grandstand, allowing spectators with mobile phone and tablets to watch the BBC coverage, track their favourite player through GPS, and get details through up-to-the minute scoring updates. "The experience for our spectators will, I believe, be the best they have ever received," said Peter Unsworth, chairman of the R&As championship committee. "Using their own smartphones and tablets, and our groundbreaking Wi-Fi network which is available in every grandstand, they will be able to enjoy live BBC television and radio coverage, live scoring and get news and updates without leaving their seat. "The information available to our spectators has never been so readily available." And to think this major only three years ago banned cellphones from the golf course. Now theyre telling spectators theyre missing out if they dont have them. The R&A last year installed wireless signals as an experiment, with the source of streaming capabilities coming from London. It was so pleased with the result that it now has installed its own fiber optic network at most of the links courses where it holds The Open, starting with Hoylake. Malcolm Booth, the R&As communications director, said the signal is strong enough for as many as 20,000 fans to stream video at the same time. A popular theme at the R&A over the last two decades has been finding a balance between tradition and technology. R&A chief executive Peter Dawson always thought that would involve only equipment. Now he is trying to grasp a world of live streaming and second-screen channels. "What it will be 10 years from now I can scarcely imagine," Dawson said. Traditions die hard at the oldest golf championship in the world, which dates to 1860. Tom Watson, a five-time champion who played his first British Open before Tiger Woods was even born, couldnt help notice some of the changes during a practice round Monday. "What happened to the yellow scoreboards?" he said. For starters, the scoreboards changed from yellow to green years ago, but point taken. For the longest time, there was a manual scoreboard behind each green that showed the cumulative score of the players on that hole, and the scores of the group next to play. Those are gone, replaced by LED screens that now give scores, news updates on the championship, and even a rules quiz during the practice rounds. "Theyre in the modern age," Watson said. Dawson said former championship committee chairman Jim McArthur was a strong advocate for getting up to speed with digital technology, and it then was turned over to Booth and the communications department. Booth said it wasnt a hard sell to the Royal & Ancient, though "there was a lot of explaining to do." "There was a need to explain how this could impact on the experience for spectators," he said. "Having a radio at the Open is not new. People have been doing it for decades. Having a television picture on a hand-held device has been pretty common at big events like the PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. They were aware of these devices. What they werent sure about was how easy it was to take that technology and have it on each persons phones." Oddly enough, it was at Royal Liverpool in 2006 when spectators took so many pictures with their phones that mobile devices were banned the following year. The R&A finally relented on that strict policy in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Now it has Wi-Fi networks, routers, live streaming, geofencing. Is there anything still ancient about the Royal & Ancient? "Me," Dawson said with a smile. He retires next year after 16 years as chief executive, the last few years filled with technology changes he never imagined. He still likes the balance between old and new. The Open still is played on the same turf where Old Tom Morris and Willie Park Sr. vied for championships. The claret jug has been passed around for 86 years. "But I think in the modern era," Dawson said, "the way that people now embrace this technology is something that golf also has to embrace." Ryan Pressly Jersey . They signed their first kicker. 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The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit.NEW YORK -- CC Sabathia is scheduled for season-ending surgery on his right knee next week, ending any hope of him returning to the New York Yankees ravaged rotation this year. Sabathia will have surgery Wednesday, and general manager Brian Cashman said he thinks "in theory" the big left-hander will be ready for spring training in February. But there is no guarantee Sabathia will be able to pitch effectively next season. "Given obviously the number of things that have gone on, well have to be careful with him," Cashman said Friday. "Hopefully next year will be a different story." The team all but ruled out Sabathia returning in 2014 after he had a setback early this month while he was on a minor league rehab assignment. He was hit hard July 2 in an outing for Double-A Trenton and woke up the next morning with swelling in the knee joint. One positive is that Sabathia, who turns 34 on Monday, will not have microfracture surgery Wednesday, which would require a longer recovery. Cashman said it will be an "arthroscopic debridement" -- basically, a cleanup procedure. The six-time All-Star and 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner has been out with a degenerative cartilage problem in his right knee since mid-May, when his ERA reached a career-high 5.28. "The rehab side of it which he went through, if you had three different options, that was the least," Cashman said. "Now were on the middle side of this thing, which is a cleanup of the knee, and hopefully thats good enough." The operation will be performed by Los Angeles Dodgers head physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Sabathia also had surgery on the knee in October 2010 to repair a small meniscus cartilage tear. After signing a $161 million, seven-year deal with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2009 season, Sabathia had his contract extended in 2011 by one year and $30 million. Making $23 million this season, Sabathia is scheduled to earn $23 million in 2015 and $25 milllion in 2016.dddddddddddd. The Yankees have a $25 million option on his deal for 2017 with a $5 million buyout. In other news, designated hitter Carlos Beltran was activated Friday from the seven-day concussion list. He batted sixth in the opener of a three-game interleague series against Cincinnati and hit an RBI single in the third inning. Rookie ace Masahiro Tanaka, sidelined with a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, wont begin a throwing program until hes pain-free. The Yankees hope he can avoid Tommy John surgery and return in September. Tanaka had a platelet-rich plasma injection. "Theres treatment, protocols, and when hes symptom-free hell start a throwing program, which obviously leads to bullpens, batting practices and hopefully rehab games. All of that has to happen without issue," Cashman said. "I know hes feeling better, but he doesnt feel symptom-free." Michael Pineda (right shoulder muscle injury) is throwing "very well" in Florida and the Yankees hope he can come back in August, Cashman said. The injuries to Sabathia, Tanaka, Pineda and Ivan Nova (season-ending Tommy John surgery) have left the third-place Yankees without four-fifths of their opening-day rotation. Hiroki Kuroda is the only one left, teaming with David Phelps, newcomer Brandon McCarthy and rookies Chase Whitley and Shane Greene to fill out a makeshift unit. Beltran was hit in the face with a ball that caromed off the batting cage July 9 in Cleveland and broke his nose. He said he was never told by a doctor that he had a concussion, but the Yankees were concerned and wanted to make sure he was OK. The club opened a roster spot for Beltran just before the All-Star break when right-hander Bryan Mitchell was optioned to Double-A Trenton after Sunday nights loss in Baltimore. The Yankees also announced they will honour captain Derek Jeter during a pregame ceremony Sept. 7. Jeter is retiring after the season. ' ' '