Royal Birkdale will welcome record-breaking crowds of 300,000 to the Southport coast in July.
Over 1,000,000 ballot applications were received as the R&A continues to increase the scale of the game’s most historic major.
Conscious of the need to provide better entertainment to fans on the practice days, a pair of new initiatives will take place on the Monday and Tuesday of Open week.
On the former, the Last Chance Qualifier will see 12 players vying to earn the final place in the field over an 18-hole shoot-out, while the latter will involve a Heroes Classic, a three-hole Texas Scramble, with Jordan Spieth and Padraig Harrington, both former winners of The Open at Royal Birkdale, joined by reigning AIG Women’s Open champion Miyu Yamashita, G4D champion Brendan Lawlor, Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose and R&A ambassadors including Bryan Habana and Kathryn Newton.
“At this year’s Open Championship we will welcome our biggest-ever attendance with more than 300,000 people attending across the course of the week,” said Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of the R&A. “Once again, we received over 1 million applications in the ballot and that continues to demonstrate the worldwide appeal for our championship.
“We take our responsibility to provide an outstanding experience for fans extremely seriously. This year we’re , therefore, introducing a series of enhancements as we continue to evolve and expand our offering.”
Darbon is extremely comfortable to discuss the commercial details around the Open and explained how the R&A seek to celebrate their best and most historic venues while maximising the profit he says they need to make to allow them to re-invest it into worthwhile projects around the world.
“The three pillars of our new strategy will see the R&A unite through our role in governance of the sport, inspire through our portfolio of world class championships, and lead positively by shaping golf’s future with our partners,” he said.
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“The Open Championship is clearly the foundation of our work to inspire, to engage and excite millions of people around the world.”
At Royal Portrush last year, there were 278,000 fans over the week. The last time the Open was held at Royal Birkdale, in 2017, the total attendance was 235,000.
When the players and fans arrive at Birkdale, they will find a course that is markedly different to 2017 – both on and off the course.
For a start, the practice ground for the week is the one at neighbouring Hillside.
The 5th and 14th (previously the par-5 15th) are effectively new holes, albeit on the same footprint, while the par-3 15th is a brand-new hole, measuring 241 yards from the back tees.
With the realignment of the 7th, it means that the four par 3s all play in different directions for the first time: facing north, south, south-west and north-east respectively.
The number of bunkers on the course has actually been reduced, from 127 down to 108. Many have also been remodelled with surrounds raised for extra visibility from the tee.
The course will play at 7,223 yards, to a par 70. That is 67 yards longer than 2017. The front nine has actually been made shorter, thanks to the 7th getting shorter.
Yardage is gained on the back nine thanks to the 14th being a much longer par 5 and the new par-3 15th.
“We’ve had great feedback from the membership and from the club based on the changes that have been made – that’s always a good sign,” said Darbon.
“We’re excited because the changes are freeing up some of the pinch points that we’ve had in the past. They enable us to think slightly differently about the infrastructure we deploy to underpin this championship.”
• The 154th Open Championship takes place at Royal Birkdale from Thursday, July 16 to Sunday, July 19.
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