A total of 290,000 fans will attend The 150th Open, which would take place at St. Andrews, Scotland. This is the highest attendance recorded for the event, and the first time the number would pass the quarter-million mark. The highest attendance previously recorded was in 2000, when 239,000 fans came to watch Tiger Woods become the champion. This year’s The Open would hold from July 10 — 17.
The event received over 1.3 million applications, out of which 290,000 tickets would be issued. 52,000 fans are expected each day of the Championship, while a record 80,000 spectators would attend the four practice days. This is higher than the 61,000 spectators who attended the practice days at the 2019 The Open that, recorded a total of 237,000 fans.
According to Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the event is expected to generate about £200 million in economic benefit for Scotland. The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, commented that “The news that this will be the largest Championship ever staged is a phenomenal feat and reminds us of the enduring appeal of golf.”
Defending champion, Collin Morikawa, would be playing at the event this year for the second time. His debut last year earned him the trophy, and he is hoping to win it this year again. But first, he says he would like to play at the Scottish Open. According to him, playing at the Scottish Open contributed to his success at The Open last year: “The plan is absolutely to come back and play the Scottish Open. I owe a lot to that tournament for getting me ready and actually making me realise that I needed to change some irons.”
In other news, Phil Mickelson has become the second player to request release to play at the LIV Golf Invitational holding this June. This is coming just weeks after missing the Masters, as the 51-year-old is currently on a break from golf with no date on when he would be back. Mickelson joins Robert Garrigus as the second man who has expressed interest in the Saudi-backed league.
Written by: Leon Osamor
