Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

8,000 fans a day to be allowed at AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie

Sophia Popov will defend the AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie later this month.
Sophia Popov will defend the AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie later this month.

Up to 8000 fans a day will be permitted at the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie later this month, the R&A has confirmed after concluding consultations with the Scottish Government.

Last year’s championship at Troon was played behind closed doors. This year players and officials will remain in a closed bubble but fans will be allowed, with all tickets pre-ordered for the event, from August 16-22.

The R&A are “strongly encouraging” all attendees to be double vaccinated and to undertake lateral flow tests twice weekly.

‘Fans will elevate the Women’s Open’

The Championship Course at Carnoustie.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A said, “We and our partners at AIG were incredibly proud of what we achieved for women’s golf at the AIG Women’s Open last year.

“We will always remember Sophia Popov’s outstanding victory, but in 2021 fans are what will elevate the AIG Women’s Open from memorable to truly special.

“Fans are so important to major sporting championships. They create atmosphere, they celebrate greatness and commiserate heartbreak, they bring passion and excitement. We are truly delighted to welcome spectators back to the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie.”

The R&A, working closely with the Scottish and UK governments, its health and safety advisers and local health authorities, has implemented health protocols to ensure the safety of the players, officials, fans and local Angus community.

Safe championship ‘the top priority’

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers.

Slumbers added, “A successful and a safe championship has been The R&A and AIG’s top priority thought the planning process for the AIG Women’s Open. We have a duty of care, as best we can, to mitigate the risk Covid-19 to those attending the Championship and importantly not to impose any greater risk to our hosts in the local Angus area.

“Our protocols follow the best practice guidance for staging a major event during the pandemic and have been formed with the support of and in close consultation with the Scottish government and The R&A’s medical and health & safety advisors.”

‘We can proceed with the event with confidence’

Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development Jenny Gilruth said: “I am very pleased that the Scottish Government’s process for supporting flagship events has helped enable the return of spectators to the AIG Women’s Open.

“We know how challenging Covid has been for the events sector. I commend the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the event, including The R&A, their health and safety experts and a range of local delivery partners for the exceptional protocols and mitigations in place that allow us collectively to proceed with the event with confidence.

“There is no doubt that the spectators in attendance at the AIG Women’s Open will enjoy the world-class sport that unfolds on the Angus coast and enhance the event by producing the incredible atmosphere for which Scottish golf crowds are rightly renowned.”

Fans wishing to attend should book their tickets in advance at aigwomensopen.com.

Adult tickets start from £25 with children aged 16 years or under before the Championship admitted free of charge. Spectators aged 24 years or under will be entitled to purchase youth (16-24 years) tickets starting from £12.50. A £5 Mastercard discount is available per transaction.