After attending both major tournaments, I’m convinced the Women’s Open is better than The Open

Deputy Digital Editor Sarah identifies the differences in her experiences at the AIG Women's Open and The Open

Today’s Golfer Deputy Digital Editor Sarah Pyett attended The Open and The AIG Women’s Open this year. Here, she explores the stark differences between the two majors and reveals her favorite.

I’ve played golf for most of my life, 26 years to be exact, and in that time I’ve attended The Open pretty much annually. My first vivid memory of being in the crowd at an Open Championship was Royal St George’s in 2003, when Ben Curtis shot a 32 on the back nine to leave him two shots back going into the final day, and then replicated that performance with a 32 on the front nine on the final day. I can clearly remember standing at the side of the 18th hole as the leaders came to the end of their rounds and asking my dad: ‘Who on earth is Ben Curtis?’

I’ve been to many Opens since that scorching hot summer weekend in July 2003, but believe it or not, 2024 was the first time I’d actually been to the Women’s Open Championship, and it was an incredible, eye-opening experience.

During my week at the AIG Women’s Open in St Andrews, I noticed so many differences when I looked back and compared it to my time at July’s 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. Ticket pricing, the facilities for spectators, and the general atmosphere were just a few of the glaring differences between the two events, but let’s dig a bit deeper into just how different they actually were.

The pricing of tickets for the Men’s and Women’s Open Championships

First up, let’s talk about how expensive these experiences are to attend.

Both The Open Championship and The Women’s Open open up their gates on practice days to allow spectators to watch some slightly more relaxed golf, and maybe even catch their favourite player to sign an autograph. Practice days at Royal Troon cost between £35 and £55 per adult depending on the day, and gates were open from the Sunday before the tournament. At the women’s tournament in St Andrews, the only day they opened up to the public was the Wednesday, which was priced at £25. Really good value for money in my opinion, as the tee times for the day were full, and there was some Pro-Am activity in the morning.

Pricing for tickets to The Open tournament days ranged from £90 to £110 (the weekend days being more expensive), with the Women’s Open tournament tickets priced between £45 and £60. Just from looking at those prices, the Women’s Open is going to be a more affordable option for many people looking to watch some live professional golf in the UK.

There was also the option of purchasing a £100 weekend ticket for the Women’s Open or a 5-day ticket for £180. The Open offered no multi-day ticket at all, and you would have been forced to purchase multiple individual-dated tickets if you wanted to attend more than one day.

Across both Open Championships, under 16s were free, and ages 16-24 were half the price of an adult ticket. A fantastic way for younger golfers to grow their interest in the sport and watch their heroes play in person. Maybe some of them will be competing against the names on the scoreboards one day!

The number of spectators was drastically different

I’m under no illusion that the women’s game doesn’t attract the volume of spectators that the men’s does, but nothing prepared me for how quiet the tournament days seemed on The Old Course for the AIG Women’s Open.

Walking the course on the first day of the tournament, I spoke to more volunteer marshalls than I did spectators, and I honestly felt as though I had the place to myself. There were a fair few people watching from behind the wall by the side of 17, the ‘road hole’ as it’s known, and people naturally congregated in the open space by the side of the first green and second tee. Apart from that, I didn’t come across many groups of people at all. Where marshaled fairway crossings at Royal Troon often felt like a crowded New York City crosswalk, those at St Andrews were the complete opposite.

The weekend did get busier, with many more children watching from the rope line on Saturday and Sunday, but still not to the extent that I felt the course was really busy. The grandstands were full most of the weekend, but the course still seemed quiet. Perhaps as Scotland’s school holidays had finished, the younger ones had to wait until they weren’t in school to head down and enjoy the golf alongside their families.

The 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon welcomed 250,000 ticket holders across the week. The AIG Women’s Open welcomed just a fifth of that number – 52,887 – so it’s no wonder the course felt quiet in comparison.

Still, this was the most well-attended Women’s Open since 2019 (67,000 went to Woburn that year, but the event hasn’t picked up numbers-wise since Covid-19) and hopefully 2025’s tournament will see more of an uplift in numbers and show the women’s game even more support. As great as it is to have the more intimate experience with smaller crowds, I’d love to see those numbers heading up towards the 100,000 mark as the women’s game is more than worth it.

Spectator viewing and grandstands

St Andrews isn’t a ‘viewing’ course; it’s relatively flat which leaves little in the way of undulations to the side of holes that you can stand and view from. For The Open at Royal Troon last month, there were so many great viewing spots around the course. I could stand at the side of most greens and be guaranteed a good view, as the green was below me.

You’d like to think, then, that St Andrews would be full of grandstands allowing you to watch the action easily, especially as it’s an ‘out and back’ course. Nope, there were three. Yes, three. Two by the R&A Clubhouse overlooking the 1st Tee and 18th Green, and one out towards the back of the course behind the shared double green of holes 7 and 11. Royal Troon had sixteen grandstands by comparison.

Whilst the Women’s Open doesn’t attract the crowds that The Open does, and therefore may not need the amount of grandstand space that venues such as Royal Troon require, a couple of the spectators I spoke to at the weekend mentioned it would have been nice to have had a few more locations to be able to sit and watch play for a few hours.

The difference in quality of golf between the Men’s and Women’s Open Championships

The women play better golf. The men’s game is impressive, don’t get me wrong. But to see how much shorter the women drive the ball, yet still manage to card such incredible scores makes them more impressive in terms of skill and talent to me.

I’m not normally the sort of spectator interested in watching players ripping drives and trying to drive greens on par fours, although seeing the women able to drive 9, 11, and 18 at St Andrews when the wind was in their favor was great. Anyone who trains correctly can easily hit incredibly long drives, especially with the technology in golf equipment these days.

The women don’t try and overdo anything, they don’t try and rip the ball off the tee, and as a result their games are much more accurate, composed, and strategic. It’s not about who can hit the furthest, it’s about placing the ball in the right area to have a chance at attacking the pin. Does it matter if they’re hitting a 6-iron or a fairway wood into the green on a par four? No. What matters is whether they executed the shot they planned, and the score they walk off the hole with.

Watching the best women golfers in the world accurately plot their way around The Old Course in such poor (yet classic links) conditions this year was more inspiring than anything I saw at Royal Troon in July. Their swings were slower, they all have a tempo to be jealous of, and everything looked effortless.

The different atmospheres at the Men’s and Women’s Open Championships

This was probably the most stark difference for me – the atmosphere at The Women’s Open was the complete opposite of The Open. It was calmer, quieter, and more respectful.

The Open of course attracts larger crowds, including a mix of seasoned golfers, casual fans, and a significant number of international visitors. The audience often has a traditional feel, with many fans invested in the history of the event. Fans were vocal, especially when big names were playing, and the stakes always felt high, and the crowds became very animated.

You may have read my experience from Royal Troon back in July, where a group of drunken spectators heckled me whilst I knelt down inside the ropes to watch Rose and Molinari tee off on the 17th hole. This is something I didn’t have to worry about at all in St Andrews. No drunk men shouting ‘get in the hole’ on every shot possible, either. It was a welcome change from the men’s game, that’s for sure.

The audience at the Women’s Open was more diverse. More families, more women, more young spectators. The atmosphere was more relaxed, intimate, and less crowded, which allowed for a closer connection to the players. I really did feel this while I was there; it was almost as if the ropes weren’t there and the spectators were walking alongside the players.

The difference in the merchandise

When I walked into the merch tent at Royal Troon back in July, it felt like I was in Tesco (other supermarkets are available), it was that big. Honestly, it even had its own doorman. In comparison, the ladies’ merchandise tent was like a corner shop.

Royal Troon had a queuing system set up not unlike the ones you meader around to get through airport customs, and when I say the shop was like an aircraft hanger, those of you who went to the 152nd Open Championship will understand what I’m saying. The merchandise was split into brands, with different sections dedicated to names such as adidas, Abacus, Under Armour, ProQuip, Hugo Boss, and Peter Millar. There was an entire headwear section the length of a supermarket shopping aisle, a company to frame any prints you purchased, and the tills were set up like supermarket checkouts.

The Women’s Open at St Andrews was a different story. The merchandise tent was very adidas-heavy, which was completely understandable as the brand was an official supplier of the AIG Women’s Open, and there were a few other brands on display. adidas launched their new JAY3LLE range that week, too, with the limited edition capsule collection taking center stage in the merchandise tent. It looked fantastic and even had its own catwalk to the side of the shop.

Despite having a selection of other names such as TravisMathew, Abacus, and Glenmuir on the shelves, the volume of stock seemed quite low. I was doing a bit of shopping on the Wednesday morning that week, which was practice day, and the first day the gates were open to the public. A lady ahead of me in the line for the fitting rooms asked for a specific jacket in an XL (all they had on the shop floor was L and XXL). The very helpful staff member went to take a look in the back to check the stock room and said they were all gone. Not the best impression when the tournament hadn’t even started. I asked the floor staff if they were getting any more stock in and they said they weren’t sure.

The one thing that did surprise me was the difference in price points at the Women’s Open compared to The Open. I purchased an adidas tee and an adidas 1/4 zip top, both with the AIG Women’s Open logo embroidered on, and I spent less than £65. At The Open, an equivalent purchase would have been around £85.

Was the spectator village any different?

In a word, yes. I found the Women’s Open was very much geared towards families, golf tuition, and those who engage with influencers and online golf communities. They have also brought in a Saturday evening concert in an effort to diversify the entertainment on offer and increase spectator numbers. The 2024 headline act of Tom Grennan was smashing. The Open did have a fun zone designed for children, but the majority of the spectator village at Royal Troon was dedicated to alcohol and food, with bars and eateries surrounding the picnic tables and giant beanbags. Looking back, this matched the demographic of the spectators I saw at Royal Troon.

One great feature of The Women’s Open was the Session Stage. Located in the festival village, the stage was a location for the spectators to go and see different events happening throughout the week, and there were some great features in the line-up. Player interviews, appearances from legends of the women’s game, workout sessions with Charley Hull’s trainer, coaching sessions, and an evening showing of the best golf film ever made (I won’t be convinced otherwise), Happy Gilmore.

There were a few influencer sessions, too, where creators involved in the online golf community spoke about their experiences. I thought this was fantastic for the audience, especially the younger fans, to see some faces they’d recognize from social media. However, I would have liked to have seen more sessions and interviews with people who have been involved with the game for longer, and in different capacities. It would have been great to hear from golf commentators, R&A ambassadors such as actress Kathryn Newton (Global Development Ambassador), or even people driving change for women within sport such as Stephanie Hilborne OBE, CEO of Women in Sport, who took part in a fascinating discussion panel at the St Andrews Hotel in the week before the tournament.

I think The Open could learn a few things from The Women’s Open in terms of evening entertainment and interactive sessions, but maybe it’s easier to manage that aspect at the women’s event due to lower spectator numbers.

Final thoughts

All in all, there were so many differences between the two majors, it’s hard to list each one.

The Women’s Open offers a more relaxed, inclusive, and intimate experience, with a focus on promoting the sport to a wider audience. The Open is characterized by bigger crowds, a more intense atmosphere, and more of a sense of tradition.

The Women’s Open just clinches it in terms of experience for me. With how much quieter the venue was during tournament days, I felt closer to the action, even part of it. It’s much more affordable for families (both entrance and merchandise), and the entertainment in the festival village is a fantastic addition. I can’t wait to see who headlines the Saturday evening concert next year for the 49th Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl. Wonder if Tom Jones or The Stereophonics are free?

About the author

Sarah Pyett – Deputy Digital Editor

Sarah Pyett is the Deputy Digital Editor of todays-golfer.com. She plays off a handicap of 4, and specializes in ladies’ equipment reviews, including drivers, irons, and golf balls.

After a career in a golf professional shop, and earning a qualification in golf club management, Sarah joined Bauer in 2014 as a Web Producer for Today’s Golfer. She has since worked across multiple brands in a mixture of digital marketing and paid media roles, before returning to focus on golf full-time as Deputy Digital Editor in 2024.