Record Open crowd watching resurgent Tiger Woods at Carnoustie generated £120m benefit to Scotland
Record crowds for this summer’s Open at Carnoustie helped generate a £120m benefit to Scotland, according to an independent study.
A total of 172,000 fans – swelled by the resurgence of 14-times major winner Tiger Woods – attended the event and delivered an economic impact of £69m, according to the study by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre.
Scotland also benefited from £51m in destination marketing activity thanks to the Open being broadcast on television to more than 600 million households in 193 countries worldwide.
READ MORE: Sissoko: 'The best thing I have done is to be strong mentally'
READ MORE: Ashley Young hails Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s impact at Manchester United
READ MORE: Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele lead Barcelona to victory
The study, commissioned by golf’s governing body The R&A, VisitScotland and Angus Council, also concluded the Angus area alone received a £21m of new money from staging the event with almost half of the spectators (49.8%) travelling from outside Scotland.
“The Open has a proven track record of generating substantial economic benefit for the host country in which it is staged thanks to the tens of thousands of spectators who attend each year,” said R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers.
“The return of the Open to Carnoustie has been a great success. We enjoyed a memorable week in which we welcomed a record number of fans to one of golf’s great championship venues to witness Francesco Molinari create history by becoming the first Italian to lift the iconic Claret Jug.”
