The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush is set to become the second best attended in history, with almost 280,000 fans having snapped up tickets for the final major of the year.
The event was already a complete sell-out before home favourite Rory McIlroy completed the career grand slam with his dramatic Masters victory at Augusta National.
A mural of Shane Lowry with the Claret Jug painted on a house near the entrance of Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)
Almost 1.1 million people applied in the public ticket ballot last year, with 278,000 securing tickets across the practice days and four tournament days.
That is around 41,000 more than attended the Open when Shane Lowry triumphed at Royal Portrush in 2019.
That year marked the first time the Open had been played in Northern Ireland since 1951.
While the tickets for this year’s tournament were allocated long before the nerve-shredding conclusion at Augusta, recently appointed R&A chief executive Mark Darbon acknowledged that the prospect of McIlroy teeing off on home turf as a Masters champion had added to the excitement around the Open’s third hosting in Northern Ireland.
“I think it’s brilliant for the sport of golf, not just our own championship,” said Mr Darbon on a visit to Portrush on Tuesday.
“It was an amazing, emotional win.
“We’re delighted to see Rory etch his name in the history books.”
He added: “I mean 2019 was a roaring success, and so when we announced that we were coming back, there was a lot of pent-up excitement for that return.
Chief executive of the R&A Mark Darbon speaks to the media at Royal Portrush Golf Club (Niall Carson/PA)
“I think the game of golf is in a good space as well, from a participation perspective, you know, it’s never been healthier in terms of the growth that we’re seeing.
“So, there’s a lot of interest and excitement in the game right now.
“And, quite frankly, Rory McIlroy winning the Masters a couple of weekends ago just adds to that excitement.
“So, we’re looking forward to welcoming him here this summer too.”
The record attendance at an Open came in 2022 at St Andrews when 290,000 attended the 150th staging of the tournament.
Asked if the hype around McIlroy would present crowd management issues at Portrush in July, Mr Darbon said he was confident the understandable spectator desire to catch a glimpse of the local hero could be managed.
“I think you’re always thinking through how do you manage the crowd effectively, how do you get the experience right for spectators and other groups t...
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