Contribution of the 150th Open Championship to culture and sport in the UK

John Woodhouse; Lulu Meade; Sue Holland

The 150th Open Championship will take place at St Andrews in 2022. The Open will be the largest in the Championship’s history, with a record-breaking 290,000 fans set to attend at the world-renowned Old Course from 10-17 July.

Provost of Fife, Jim Leishman, has commented on the significance of the event:

The Open is a wonderful opportunity to showcase St Andrews and Fife, bringing thousands of visitors to the area and boosting the local economy by potentially millions of pounds. We know from experience that The Open “effect” lasts well beyond the week, with tourism and golf businesses often seeing an increase in bookings right through to the following year.

This year is particularly significant as it is the 150th Open and there will be record crowds attending throughout the week to watch the world’s top golfers and enjoy St Andrews. We hope many of them will take the chance to explore wider and return to Fife in the future

The important role golf plays for tourism in Scotland has been outlined by Visit Scotland chief executive, Malcolm Roughhead:

Golf is one of Scotland’s major selling points to tens of millions of golfers around the globe, with no other country able to match our history or heritage in the game. Written records of golf being played here date back to the Middle Ages and we have some of the oldest golf courses in the world.

Overall, it is estimated that golf tourism is worth £286 million to Scotland annually, supporting around 4,400 jobs. As well as the tourism boost, the health and well-being aspect of golf was brought into sharp focus during the pandemic as one of the first activities to reopen after lockdown providing exercise and social interaction.