THE four open championships which combined to stage the great summer of Scottish golf over the past month drew 326,704 paying customers to Loch Lomond, Carnoustie, Muirfield and St Andrews.
In spite of poor weather and the fear so many events held in close proximity over such a short period would all work against each other, the good news was there were record turn-outs at both the Barclays Scottish Open, 84,429, and the Senior Open, 27
,225.
On the other hand, the attendance at the Old Course for the Ricoh Women's British Open of 61,050 fell some way short of the 80,000 record set in glorious weather at Lytham in 2003. While it was still a respectable figure given the soggy state of the Scottish summer, the numbers came nowhere near the optimistic figure of 100,000 which the Ladies Golf Union had predicted.
Perhaps the slow pace of play and the waning of Michelle Wie's 'wow' factor also contributed to the lower than expected turn-out. But there were fewer than expected visitors who came to the town for the week. The attendance was made up mainly of day trippers. Since tickets were priced at £20, the cost of admission was not a deterrent.
Only the figure of 154,000 who attended the Open at Carnoustie, 3,000 down on the 157,000 in 1999 at the same venue and 76,000 below the 230,000 who flocked to Hoylake in 2006, could be said to be a sore disappointment.
Although the inclement weather was a factor here too, many also pointed to high tickets prices, £50 admission for each day of play, steep rail prices, and expensive on-site catering at Carnoustie as contributing to the decline in numbers. As a world-class event, which delivered gripping excitement on the final day, it would be a stretch to suggest the Open failed to deliver value for money compared to other sports and entertainment. A ticket for T in the Park, for example, cost £97 if you could lay your hands on one.
It was also fair to say fewer American accents were heard on the fairways of Carnoustie. The weakness of the dollar against the pound meant that US visitors were much less evident than in the past.
As the most northerly of the Open venues and with a relatively small population base to draw upon, Carnoustie is never going to rival St Andrews for blockbuster attendances. And with so much golf taking place in Scotland this summer - all of it televised, with three of the four championships screened on the BBC - the sense of attending something unique may have been diluted.
As for the quality of the championships, however, there could be no carping about the entertainment value. At Loch Lomond, Gregory Havret edged out Phil Mickelson in a play-off. At Carnoustie, Padraig Harrington overcame Sergio Garcia in extra holes after the most thrilling last day at the Open since Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson duelled in the sun at Turnberry 30 years previously. At Muirfield, Watson won his seventh Open title in Scotland. And at St Andrews, Lorena Ochoa, the No 1 woman golfer, won her first major.
If Scotland has no rival in staging world-class golf championships, the home of golf is less adept these days at producing winners of those events. Catriona Matthew, seventh in St Andrews, was the highest placed home hope over the past month. Sam Torrance, tenth at Muirfield, Ross Bain, 45th at Carnoustie, and Paul Lawrie, 57th at Loch Lomond, were the other top Scots.
Any intrepid spectator still eager to watch more golf on home turf can look forward to another four professional events over the coming months - the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles from 30 August to 2 September; the Dunhill Links at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns from 4-7 October; the Scottish Seniors at Dalmahoy from 28-30 September; and the Ladies Scottish Open at the Carrick from 20-22 September.
Next summer, the Open moves to Birkdale and the Women's British is at Sunningdale, leaving Loch Lomond and the Senior Open at Troon as the highlights for Scottish golf spectators in 2008. It may be some time before all four opens coincide in Scotland in the same season again.
THE MONTH OF MAJORS
BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN • Venue: Loch Lomond
• Winner: Gregory Havret
• Top Scot: Paul Lawrie, 57th
• Attendance: 84,429
THE OPEN • Venue: Carnoustie
• Winner: Padraig Harrington
• Top Scot: Ross Bain, 45th
• Attendance: 154,000
SENIOR BRITISH OPEN • Venue: Muirfield
• Winner: Tom Watson
• Top Scot: Sam Torrance, 10th
• Attendance: 27,225
RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN • Venue: St Andrews
• Winner: Lorena Ochoa
• Top Scot: Catriona Matthew, 7th
• Attendance: 61,050
The full article contains 801 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
