The 2025 Open at Royal Portrush is going to break one very big record

The R&A has confirmed that the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush will smash attendance records in 2025, drawing more fans than any other Open Championship held outside St Andrews.

When The Open returned to Royal Portrush in 2019 for the first time in nearly 70 years, it was universally hailed as a triumph. Shane Lowry’s emotional win on home soil, the electric atmosphere, the jaw-dropping views along the rugged Antrim coast – it had everything, including a record number of fans.

Fast forward to 2025, and the Claret Jug is coming back to Northern Ireland. Only this time, it’s going to be even bigger.

The R&A has revealed that a record-breaking 278,000 fans will descend on the iconic Dunluce Links for the 153rd Open Championship. That’s the biggest attendance in the history of the Championship outside of St Andrews – and a clear sign that the appetite for major golf in the UK has never been stronger.

The attendance this year will surpass the previous high mark set at Royal Portrush six years ago when 237,750 fans celebrated Lowry’s six-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood.

Only the 150th Open at St Andrews will be able to boost a higher attendance figure – with 290,000 fans present for Cam Smith’s triumph in 2022.

“The passion and enthusiasm for golf throughout the island of Ireland is world-renowned and is clearly reflected in the extraordinary demand among fans to be part of this historic occasion,” says Mark Darbon, Chief Executive at The R&A. “We look forward to welcoming a record crowd to these spectacular links for a true celebration of golf and seeing who emerges from the 156-strong field to become Champion Golfer of the Year.”

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Over one million people applied for tickets in the ballot, and demand for Practice Day access has soared too. All four practice days are now sold out, with a record 89,000 spectators set to attend – smashing the 2019 total of 61,000.

But the buzz isn’t just about bums on fairway-facing seats. The economic forecast is staggering. Independent research from Sheffield Hallam University estimates that the 153rd Open will generate £213 million in economic benefit for Northern Ireland. That figure includes £63 million in direct economic impact and a whopping £150 million in destination marketing value thanks to global broadcast coverage.

While the numbers are headline-grabbing, The Open’s legacy initiatives continue to make a real difference, too. More than 27,000 free tickets will be made available to kids under 16 through The R&A’s long-running ‘Kids Go Free’ scheme. Discounted tickets for under-25s will also help make this Open one of the most accessible in history.

And with 4,600 fans already booked into the on-site Open Camping Village – 32% of them under 25 – the Championship is doubling down on creating a festival atmosphere. Since the village launched in 2016, 20,000 free bed nights have been offered to young fans.

The 2019 Open at Portrush set the benchmark, but the 153rd Open is going to raise the bar again – and rewrite the history books in the process.

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