In April, about 15,000 more tickets went on sale and were gone within three daysGETTY IMAGES
The Open Championship this week is being "held outside Scotland and England for only the second time ever and the first time" since '51 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, and the event's return to this "golf-mad island is being met with a mass pilgrimage to the northern coast," according to Brian Costa of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The major was "already sold out for the first time in its 148-year history when, late last year, organizers began to ask the next logical question: Could they fit even more people?" In April, "about 15,000 more tickets went on sale." Demand "crashed the R&A’s website," and the tickets were "gone within three days." Portrush, a "remote, seaside town" of about 7,000, will "draw a crowd that -- in total over the course of the week -- is estimated at 215,000." The number of tickets sold, a "record high for the Open, is equivalent to 11% of the population of Northern Ireland." The R&A said that "about 70% of the tickets were bought by Northern Ireland and Ireland residents," roughly double the "typical share bought by people from Scotland when the Open is held there." This tourney also "represents a feat of logistics." All of the grandstands, scoreboards, video boards, hospitality tents and the like had to be "ferried in more than 2,000 containers across the Irish Sea." If all goes as planned, the week will be "overwhelmingly about golf, with a regional atmosphere" (WSJ.com, 7/16).
PRAISE FOR PORTRUSH: Golfers and media members are already lauding the setup of the Dunluce Links course at Royal Portrush before the Open begins. Justin Thomas: "Blown away with how beautiful/good Royal Portrush is. ... A great, fair, proper test of golf this week." Ernie Els: "My favourite tournament of the year. Royal Portrush is looking incredible!" The BBC's Conor McNamara tweeted the course "looks heavenly." Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard: "There are more scenic ranges on Tour but I’m not sure there are any as dramatic as Portrush."
