Record crowd of nearly 300K expected for Open at St. Andrews
The 150th edition of golf's oldest championship really is cause for celebration.
The R&A reports Tuesday it anticipates a record 290,000 spectators at St. Andrews for the British Open this summer. That would smash the previous record of 239,000 fans who watched Tiger Woods complete the career Grand Slam at the Old Course in 2000.
The Open typically draws the most fans at St. Andrews, followed by clubs in the northwest of England (Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham & St. Annes).
The R&A allowed 32,000 fans for Royal St. George's last year in the gradual return from the COVID-19 pandemic, and with a 150-year anniversary at the home of golf, organizers received more than 1.3 million applications in the ticket ballot and the highest-ever number of general admission tickets being issued.
“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,” R&A chief Martin Slumbers said. “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 R&A said a record 20% of general admission tickets (58,000) has been allocated to fans under age 25, with 20,000 tickets set aside for children under age 16 who will attend for free.
Woods, meanwhile, plans to play the Open for the sixth time at St. Andrews. He won in 2000 and 2005.
Greg Norman will not be playing. In peculiar comments to Australia-based News Corp. last week, Norman said he was “filling out my entry form right now.”
One problem. British Open champions are no longer exempt after they turn 60, and Norman's last year was in 2015 at St. Andrews. He chose not to play. In fact, he hasn't played since Turnberry in 2009. NUMBERS GAME >> For the longest time, Jay Haas was credited with playing 799 times on the PGA Tour, one tournament away from reaching 800 career starts.
By the time he teed it up in New Orleans last week with his son, Bill, he was at 798.
The cause was a simple clerical error. Turns out the tour's data system inadvertently had given him credit for a start when he played in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. The mistake wasn't discovered until a major project in 2019 to clean up loose ends.
New Orleans is the new No. 799, and it sounds as though it will stay there even as the Haas duo made the cut and tied for 36th. CURRY POWER >> When he isn't busy trying to get the Golden State Warriors back to the NBA Finals, Steph Curry is doing his part to create golf opportunities for minorities.
His latest venture is expanding his “Underrated” brand into golf by launching a series of five tournaments in conjunction with the American Junior Golf Association. Boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 will compete for the “Curry Cup” at the Underrated Tour Championship at TPC Harding Park.
“Less than 2% of golfers are people of color,” Curry said in a video message. “This provides a platform for equity, access and opportunity for those who can't get their big break, but also who want to play head-tohead with some of the best players on the AJGA.”
PGA FIELD >> The PGA Championship released an initial field list of 123 players for Southern Hills on May 1922. It included Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, without either confirming they will be playing, along with Bryson DeChambeau, who in a best-case scenario will be close to recovering from surgery on his left hand.
That leaves 33 players to fill the field, with at least half of those coming from the top 70 on the PGA points list in two weeks after the Wells Fargo Championship. The list is compiled using official PGA Tour earnings dating from last year's AT&T Byron Nelson.
Aaron Wise is at No. 71 in points going into the Mexico Open; he also is No. 93 in the world, and the PGA Championship typically invites everyone from the top 100. Missing from the early field list is Pablo Larrazabal of Spain, who has gone from No. 207 to No. 68 with two wins in his last four starts on the European tour. His invitation is forthcoming.