The 148th Open Championship sells out

The 148^th Open Championship, which will be staged in Northern Ireland for the first time in 67 years, has sold out!

This will also be the first time the event has been completely ticketed, so there will be no opportunities to just turn up on the day.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of the R&A said demand had been unprecedented.

"It is clear from the record-breaking ticket sales that golf fans are looking forward to the long-awaited return of the Open to Northern Ireland," he said. 

"We knew there would be great demand but it has been even higher than we expected and we expect fans will take advantage of the remaining practice day tickets now that we have sold out on Championship days."

Prices for practice days start at £15 for adults, £10 for 16-24 year olds and under 16s are free with a paying adult.

The R&A has now started a waiting list for fans wishing to register their interest in purchasing any cancelled or returned tickets for championship days which may become available at a later date.

We are probably not alone in not having booked our tickets, so that’s going to be a real challenge. We've only been back from the 147th Open for a month, and have not even started thinking about next year. 

But the R&A must be loving it – all that cash in the bank, and still eleven months before a shot gets played.

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