A record crowd of 290,000 – more than 50,000 more than the previous mark – will attend the 150th Open at St Andrews this July.
The R&A’s first ticket ballot for the championship attracted over 1.3 million applications and will result in a total audience record of 239,000 spectators, smashing the previous best at the Millennium Open of 2000, also at St Andrews.
The R&A also estimate that the milestone championship will result in a total economic benefit to Scotland of £200 million.
The Scottish Government is working closely with the R&A and health advisors on the planned attendance and are confident the numbers can be accommodate safely.
‘A momentous occasion’
The 150th Open is set to provide a record-breaking attendance of 290,000, with the highest-ever number of general admission tickets being issued to fans.
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Martin Slumbers, The R&A’s chief executive, said the 150th Open at St Andrews would be “a momentous occasion for golf”.
“This is clearly reflected in the extraordinary demand among fans to be part of this historic playing of the Championship.
“We very much appreciate their passion and enthusiasm for The Open. We’re delighted that we will set a new attendance record that far exceeds the previous best set in 2000.
“The Open is a major global sporting event. Its significance to St Andrews and Scotland is evident in the independent forecast which estimates that the Championship will generate around £200 million in total economic benefit.
“We look forward to welcoming tens of thousands of fans from many countries around the world to St Andrews in July when they will enjoy a true celebration of golf at its historic home.”
‘A phenomenal feat’
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, said that staging the largest ever Open was “a phenomenal feat”.
“The Open Championship is a brilliant opportunity to showcase Scotland as the home of golf on a global stage, in a historic year for the sport – with five major tournaments being hosted across five weeks this summer.
“The championship will welcome visitors from across the world to Scotland. It will also have an extremely positive impact on our economy, businesses and tourism industry.”
The figure of £200 million of economic impact comes from a study commissioned by the R&A, VisitScotland and Fife Council.
£100 million is estimated will come from the staging of the championship itself. That figure is doubled by the marketing benefit to St Andrews and Scotland and the global media exposure.
Another record of 20% of general admission tickets have been allocated to fans under 25. 20,000 children aged under 16 attending free of charge under The Open’s long-running Kids Go Free initiative.
Ticket ballot massively oversubscribed
The first ever ballot of Open tickets was five times oversubscribed. It has however allowed the R&A to better control numbers and distribution of tickets to achieve a greater balance between Scottish, UK and international applicants.
Many of the extra numbers of fans at the Old Course will be on the four practice days. Up to 80,000 are expected from the Sunday of the championship through to the first day of competition on July 14. The previous record was 61,000 prior to the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.
There will also be a record number of grandstand seats at 17,500. The 8000-seater amphitheatre around the 1st and 18th holes and the 17th green first used in 2015 will be re-created.
Mike Woodcock, the R&A’s director of corporate communications, admitted that the huge increase in numbers was “a big step forward” at a course renowned for not being the best for viewing on the Open rota.
“There has been huge demand,” he said. “There will be 17,500 grandstand seats around the course to help with viewing. We’ve also been working on some mounding in spectator areas off the course. There’s been some gorse management to clear areas.
“Practice days attendance will be significantly higher than before. On Championship days the numbers will be something like 52,500, which again is a significant increase on previous years.
“We’ve done a huge amount of work on this. We had four or five times the level of demand for tickets as there was supply.
“Unfortunately that means some people will be disappointed, but we did our best to ensure (the ballot) was fair.”