Record crowds expected for 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, R&A announces
Record crowds expected for 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, R&A announces
Going to the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush? So are plenty of others.
So many, in fact, the R&A announced Tuesday it will be the most-attended Open Championship, outside of the 2022 Open at St. Andrews, of all-time.
The R&A says 278,000 fans will head to Northern Ireland for the 153rd Open Championship, set for July 17-20. There was "unprecedented demand" for tickets in the ballot, as there were more than one million ticket applications submitted.
'The Open is one of the world's great sporting events, and we will do everything we can to make this year's Championship at Royal Portrush an outstanding and memorable occasion for everyone involved from fans to players and the millions watching on TV and digital platforms worldwide," Mark Darbon, Chief Executive at The R&A, said in a release. 'The passion and enthusiasm for golf throughout the island of Ireland is world-renowned and is clearly reflected in the extraordinary demand among fans to be part of this historic occasion. We look forward to welcoming a record crowd to these spectacular links for a true celebration of golf and seeing who emerges from the 156-strong field to become Champion Golfer of the Year.'
When Shane Lowry won at Royal Portrush in 2019, the course saw 237,750 fans over the course of the week. That number will be more than 40,000 higher this year. For the four practice rounds, there will be a record 89,000 spectators. The number in 2019 was 61K.
The Open is also expected to be the largest sporting event in Northern Ireland's history, with an estimated economic impact of £213 million, or nearly $300 million.
Last year, 258,174 fans attended at Royal Troon, the third-most all time, with the three highest attendance totals all coming in the past three years.
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