Tour notebook: Royal & Ancient plans on record crowds for 150th British Open Championship
They're expecting record crowds at St. Andrews in Scotland on July 14-17 for the British Open.
Why not? It's the 150th Open and Tiger Woods has said he will make his second start since returning from a severe car accident last year. He made the cut at The Masters earlier this month.
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced this week that it has capped the tickets at 290,000, after receiving more than 1.3 million applications.
It will be the largest number of general admission tickets issues, beating the previous record of 239,000 at the 2000 Open won by Woods, the first of his three at the birthplace of golf and the first of two he would win at the Old Course.
Woods won the 2005 Open at St. Andrews. Zach Johnson of St. Simons Island, Ga., won the last one held at St. Andrews in 2015.
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“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 executive Martin Slumbers said in a statement. “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.”
An estimated 52,000 fans are expected each day when the tournament begins July 14. A total of 80,000 fans are due for the four practice days, which would exceed the 61,000 fans who attended the equivalent days at Royal Portrush in 2019, organizers said.
Nearly 238,000 spectators attended the four days of the 2019 Open.
Dreaming with PGA Tour
Dream Finders Homes has been a successful marketing partner with the Jaguars, serving as the title sponsorship for the team's practice fields.
The homebuilder, which operates in eight states with its Florida base in Jacksonville, has now forged a relationship with the PGA Tour.
The Tour and Dream Finders announced a multi-year partnership naming Dream Finders Homes the official home builder of the Tour and PGA Tour Champions through 2026.
Dream Finders is the only current First Coast-based business that has an official marketing partnership with the Tour.
“We are excited to have Dream Finders Homes as the first home builder to be an official marketing partner at the PGA Tour,” said Brian Oliver, PGA Tour executive vice-president for marketing and corporate partnerships. “We’re confident that the PGA Tour platform will provide an excellent backdrop to showcase the Dream Finders Homes brand through our players, media and tournaments.”
Dream Finders Homes will activate this new relationship by having a presence in programming throughout PGA TOUR social and digital properties, including hosting a “Moving Day” campaign on Instagram.
Dream Finders Homes will also organize hospitality events for key constituents and guests at select PGA Tour events, host corporate golf outings and develop partnerships with Tour players.
Curry launches junior series
Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry is a golf nut and he's good enough to have earned a sponsor invitation to Korn Ferry Tour events.
He wants to make sure no kid who wants to play the game on a competitive basis gets left behind because of the high cost of tournament travel and equipment.
To that end, Curry 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. He said the events will be free to those who qualify, including travel, lodging and meals.
“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-to-head with some of the best players on the AJGA.”
Curry's been putting his money and clout where his mouth is. Three years ago, he donated more than $1 million to Howard University to resurrect its golf program.
“Everybody knows I love the game of golf,” he said in the video. “I couldn’t be more excited to extend that love to the best young players across the country.”
Crouch hanging tough
Bolles graduate and former Florida Gator A.J. Crouch notched a tie for sixth in his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the season in the Bahamas but hasn't finished higher than a tie for 22nd since that week.
But he's giving himself chances.
Crouch tied for 26th in the last Korn Ferry Tour event, the Veritex Championship at the Texas Rangers Golf Club. He had a personal first, with all four scores in the 60s for a final total of 15-under 269. Unfortunately, the field chopped up the course and another former UF player, Tyson Alexander, won at 22-under.
Crouch has made four of his last five cuts and is 34th on the Korn Ferry points list, 96.059 points behind the No. 25 bubble that qualifies for the PGA Tour next season. Crouch is doing a solid job from tee to green, ranking 11th on the Tour in total driving (an index combining distance and accuracy) and 16th in ball striking.
Crouch also is playing well enough to ensure he's getting into tournaments after re-shuffles. He's played in all nine tournaments, making six cuts.
PGA TOUR
Event: Mexico Open, Thursday-Sunday, Vidanta Villarta, Vallarta, Mexico.
At stake: $7.3 million purse ($1.314 million and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 1-3 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Jonas Blixt, Jonathan Byrd, Matt Every, Lanto Griffin, Russell Knox, David Lingmerth, Trey Mullinax, J.T. Poston, Greyson Sigg, Michael Thompson, Jared Wolfe.
Notable: Mexico hosted hosted a World Golf Championship in Mexico City until it was canceled in 2021 because of the pandemic. Now it becomes a regular PGA Tour event and resumes the history of the Mexico Open that dates to 1944. ... Jon Rahm at No. 2 is the only player from the top 10 in the world playing at Vidanta Vallarta. ... Also playing are Tony Finau, Abraham Ancer, Patrick Reed and Gary Woodland.
LPGA TOUR
Event: Palos Verdes Championship, Thursday-Sunday, Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
At stake: $1.5 million purse ($225,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m.).
Area players entered: Marina Alex, Chella Choi, Mel Reid.
Notable: The second tournament in a row in Los Angeles ends a West Coast swing of five events ... No. 1-ranked Jin Young Ko leads a field that includes seven of the top-10 in the world. ... Bank of America, the presenting sponsor, gave an exemption to 16-year-old Anna Davis, who won the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Event: Insperity Invitational, Friday-Sunday, The Woodlands Country Club, Houston.
At stake: $2.3 million purse ($345,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Mike Weir.
TV: Golf Channel (Friday, 12-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: David Duval, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh.
Notable: Weir beat John Daly by two shots. ... Duval and Funk won at The Woodlands when it hosted the PGA Tour's Houston Open. ... Steve Stricker returns to competition for the first time since recovering from a mysterious illness that left him hospitalized in the months after leading the U.S. team to victory in the Ryder Cup. ... Miguel Angel Jimenez and Bernard Langer are in the field after taking last week off. Jimenez has led the Schwab Cup standings since the start of the year. ... Scott Parel became the fifth winner in six PGA Tour Champions tournaments this year. Jimenez is the only player to have won twice.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Event: Huntsville Championship, Thursday-Sunday, The Ledges, Huntsville, Ala.
At stake: $750,000 purse ($135,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: Paul Barjon.
TV: None.
Area players entered: Chris Baker, Blayne Barber, Chandler Blanchet, A.J. Crouch, Taylor Dickson, Phillip Knowles, Carl Yuan.
Notable: Barjon eagled the third playoff hole on a 10-foot putt to beat Billy Kennerly and Mito Pereira.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: St. Andrews sellout: Tiger Woods commitment spurs projected record ticket sales for British Open
