'Royal Portrush has truly set a new standard' as Open figures break records on three fronts

Following on from the 1951 and 2019 editions in Northern Ireland, the July week attracted 278,000 fans – the highest-ever attendance for the major outside of St Andrews.

Other records were set across television viewership and digital.

Organisers have stated “for the first time ever, all Practice Days were sold out with a record 90,000 fans attending, while 19,000 children were able to enjoy The Open as part of the long-running Kids go Free initiative” plus “more than 1.2 million applications were received for the ticket ballot”.

Sky Sports’ UK figures confirmed 21.2 million viewer hours, a 36 per cent year-on-year increase and the broadcast giant’s most-watched Open in history.

The final round marked Sky’s second-largest Sunday audience since 2021.

America’s NBC/Peacock final-round coverage averaged 4.1-million viewers, a 21 per cent increase from 2024.

The Sunday audience peaked at over 6.1-million viewers – with the overall NBC Sports coverage the most-watched since 2022.

"The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush has truly set a new standard in attendance, TV viewership and digital engagement,” said Neil Armit, chief commercial officer at The R&A. "The incredible support from the fans at The Open and those watching around the world combined with the outstanding performances on the course to create an atmosphere that will be remembered for years to come.

"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.

"We are immensely proud of what we have achieved together with our partners.”

Digital platforms were described as playing a crucial role in Championship success “by connecting with fans in innovative and interactive ways” as TheOpen.com website experienced record numbers for most daily users and page views, the latter up by 60 per cent compared to 2024 figures.

The Featured Groups stream “hit all-time highs in watch time and weekend performance, contributing to the second-highest ever livestream views, up 15 per cent from 2024”.

The official Open app hit an increase in daily users by 21 per cent, recording over 400,000 across four days.

Average session duration increased by 96 per cent thanks to features such as lockscreen leaderboard and improve live stream. Social media engagement attracted almost 400,000 new followers, a 178 per cent increase from 2024 and generating over 436 million views across platforms.

Key follower milestones were reached across all major platforms, including 795,000 on Instagram.

One Club presented by Mastercard, The R&A’s fan membership programme, now boasts just over two million members across 184 different countries with over 155,000 new members joining during the week – the best growth since 2022.