God save us from Damian Lewis and the new sporting razzmatazz!

Britain’s sporting entrepreneurs should trust fans who come for the main event, writes Jim White – not the flash-mob, half-time show, cuddly mascot, or anthems no one asked for

At Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone somebody thought it a good idea to ask Damian Lewis to deliver the national anthem (Getty)

At the start of last weekend’s LIV Golf tournament at the Centurion Club, Hemel Hempstead, a rather odd thing happened. Ahead of the tee off, just before the players were introduced to a sparse crowd of enthusiasts occupying a bank overlooking the 18th green, a group of about a dozen people boldly rushed on to the grass.

For a moment it looked as if this was to be the latest target of the Just Stop Oil protests, that the green was about to be dyed orange. Which, if nothing else, would have given an unexpectedly sectarian tinge to the eco-warriors efforts. But, as music suddenly blared from the public address system, and the invaders cranked up a busy bit of cliched choreography, it quickly became clear this was an intentional, pre-arranged course invasion. This was a flash mob, dancing to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem”, with its insistent lyric that “everybody’s in the house tonight”. Although judging by the paucity of the watching crowd, in this instance, that was a line that jarred at the edges of truth.

Still, the bemused reaction of the few who were in attendance was indicative: now that LIV Golf has effectively taken over the running of the sport, if this gaudy, ludicrous, wholly unnecessary intervention is the future of golf, then God help us all.