Despite the weather being far from favourable during the four rounds, the 152nd The Open in history played at Royal Troon (Scotland) attracted 258,174 spectators last July. A record figure, far, far ahead of the previous edition played here in 2016.
The Royal and Ancient, news
Royal Troon, host of the last British Open where American Xander Schauffele won brilliantly, was a hit in terms of attendance. Despite the weather not really favourable. The Royal & Ancient announced that it had counted 258,174 spectators.
This is a substantial increase of 50% compared to 2016 when Troon last hosted the oldest Major in history. There were in fact “only” 173,134 people attending the now legendary duel during the 4th round between the Swede Henrik Stenson and the Californian left-hander, Phil Mickelson.
The announcement follows a new agreement between The R&A and global sports marketing agency Two Circles. The two have agreed a new, expanded long-term relationship, working together to drive growth in ticketing, premium experiences and fan experience propositions at The Open, with planning for the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale in 2026 already well underway.
The new agreement also continues, as the R&A emphasises, an already successful partnership that has seen the last seven Opens (excluding pandemic restrictions at Royal St George’s in 2021) set new attendance records for the respective host venues.
It should be remembered that the record is held by the Old Course at St Andrews in 2022 for the 150th edition (290,000) ahead of the Royal Liverpool 2023 with 261,000 people!
The Rules of Golf are a set of rules and standard procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body of golf throughout the world, except in the United States and Mexico, which are governed by the United States Golf Association. An expert committee, made up of members of the R&A and the USGA, oversees and refines the Rules every four years. The latest revision was effective January 1, 2016. Changes to the Rules of Golf generally fall into two main categories: those that improve understanding of the Rules and those that reduce penalties in certain cases to ensure balance. The rulebook, entitled “The Rules of Golf,” is published on a regular basis and also includes rules governing amateur status. In Italy, the Federgolf is responsible for supervising competitions by enforcing the rules issued by the R & A, checking that these rules are observed by the Clubs, Associations and their members and managing the resulting sporting justice, protecting their interests abroad.