St. Andrews Open Set to Shatter Attendance Records

This year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews is set to shatter attendance records.

Tournament officials said Tuesday that a record-breaking 290,000 fans will attend the 150th Open in July. The previous highest attendance was 239,000 in 2000, when Tiger Woods captured his first claret jug and completed the career Grand Slam.

Approximately 52,000 spectators will attend each of the tournament days, with 80,000 set to take in the Old Course across the practice rounds.  

The R&A said that it received a record 1,300,000 applications in the ticket ballot. The Open was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured a limited on-site presence last year at Royal St. George’s.

The Open is scheduled for July 14-17. Woods, a two-time winner at the Old Course, has already committed to play.

“The 150th Open at St. Andrews is going to be a momentous occasion for golf, and this is clearly reflected in the extraordinary demand among fans to be part of this historic playing of the Championship,” said Martin Slumbers, the R&A’s chief executive. “We very much appreciate their passion and enthusiasm for The Open and are delighted that we will set a new attendance record that far exceeds the previous best set in 2000.”

The Open was last held at St. Andrews in 2015, when Zach Johnson won in a playoff.