R&A release extra tickets for The Open at Portrush

An additional 15,000 tickets have been made available for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July.

The R&A has extended the capacity on each of the four championship days by 3,750, meaning 43,750 spectators will be at the County Antrim venue each day. It means 215,000 spectators will attend the championship across the week, as Northern Ireland stages The Open for the first time since 1951. The extra tickets for The Open will go on sale on April 15.

The original bank of tickets for the event, which takes place from July 18-21, sold out in record time, with the only tickets left being for practice days and more expensive corporate hospitality packages on championship days.

“From the moment tickets and hospitality packages went on sale last year it was clear there was huge demand from fans to attend this historic occasion,” said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A. “We have been working closely with the government agencies, our advisers and contractors to assess whether we could accommodate some fans on each day and have decided we can do so without impacting on the outstanding spectator experience.”