Record-Breaking Figures from The 153rd Open Highlight Global Fan Engagement
The return of The Open Championship to Royal Portrush for its 153rd edition delivered a landmark moment in the history of golf’s original major, breaking records across attendance, broadcast viewership, and digital engagement.
A record 278,000 fans attended the Championship in Northern Ireland, making it the most attended Open ever held outside of St Andrews.
All Practice Days were sold out for the first time, attracting 90,000 fans, including 19,000 children through the long-running ‘Kids Go Free’ initiative.
Over 1.2 million ticket applications were submitted via the Open Ballot, reflecting unprecedented demand.
The Championship’s influence transcended the Antrim coastline, boasting record television viewership in both the UK and the USA.
Sky Sports recorded its most-watched Open to date, with 21.2 million viewer hours – a 36% increase year-on-year. In the US, NBC and Peacock averaged 4.1 million viewers for the final round, peaking at 6.1 million, making it their most-watched Open coverage since 2022.
Neil Armit, Chief Commercial Officer at The R&A, praised the achievement:
“The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush has truly set a new standard in attendance, TV viewership and digital engagement.
These record-breaking figures are a testament to the enduring appeal of The Open and the passion of the fans for links golf at its finest.”
Digital engagement mirrored the excitement seen on course. TheOpen.com posted record traffic, with daily users and page views up 60% from 2024.
The Featured Groups livestream recorded its highest watch time to date, and overall livestream views were up 15% year-on-year.
The official Open app achieved its highest-ever daily user count, with session durations up 96%, supported by new features such as a lockscreen leaderboard and enhanced live stream functionality.
Social platforms also saw historic growth.
The Open gained nearly 400,000 new followers across its channels – a 178% increase from 2024 – and generated more than 436 million views. Instagram followers rose to 795,000, alongside strong growth across Facebook, X, and TikTok.
The One Club presented by Mastercard, The R&A’s fan membership initiative, welcomed 155,000 new members during Championship week, pushing its total beyond two million members across 184 countries – its strongest growth since 2022.
With the Ticket Ballot for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale now open and attracting record applications, momentum continues to grow for the world’s oldest major, which once again proves its unique status in the sporting calendar.
