'Ensure' The Open stays in Scotland? Don't talk nonsense

More than 258,000 fans came through the gates at the event in July where Xander Schauffele eventually emerged the winner, the most ever to attend The Open in Troon and the third-highest in the competition’s history. The top slot continues to be held by the 150th Open at St Andrews in 2022 (290,000), followed by the 151st at Royal Liverpool in 2023 (260,000).

Read more:

• Scottish resort to bring golfers to 'the end of the Earth'

According to SIRC, this year’s event generated more than £303m in economic benefits for Scotland. The amount of new money entering the economy – a measure of the spending that wasn’t diverted from elsewhere – was calculated at a bit more than £87m, along with a further £216m in “destination marketing benefits” from the event being broadcast on television and digital platforms around the world.

The 10 stagings of The Open in Scotland since 2005 have thus, by SIRC’s calculations, generated a total economic benefit of £1.36 billion with more than two million fans attending during that time, a quarter of a million of whom were those lucrative golf tourists from overseas.

With all this on offer, the Scottish Government’s average investment of £1m annually over 11 years reads like a sound investment. However, some will no doubt question why an administration that has been forced to cut back to the bone on housing, education and other critical services has chosen to allocate any of its scarce resources in support of elite golfing events.

Step forward Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Business and the source of that poetic quote above about the country’s interwoven identity with the game of golf.

“This agreement ensures some of the world’s most prestigious golfing events are hosted in Scotland until at least 2034,” he said. “The R&A’s championships bring thousands of visitors to wherever they are hosted.”

Read more:

• New elite golf event to bolster North American tourism

Of the nine courses currently on The Open rota, four are in Scotland and four are in England, the ninth being Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland which will host next year’s event.

It is completely unfathomable that the R&A, based in St Andrews, would ever remove the Old Course from that rota. Its special status as “The Home of Golf” has ensured it the lion’s share of Open competitions in the modern era, with the event generally played in St Andrews once every five years.

The sum of £11m from the Scottish Government does not “secure” that any more than a belter of an opening drive guarantees finishing a round on par. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous.

Before any howls about misinformation are raised it should be noted that, technically speaking, not all of that public money is coming directly out of the Scottish Government’s budget.

Read more:

• Royal Dornoch in six-figure acquisition to expand golf course

Part of the £11m contribution is coming from national tourism agency VisitScotland, which has long recognised the considerable value of golf to the industry in this country. As a non-departmental public body, VisitScotland received £62.5m in grant aid from the Scottish Government during the year to March 2023, the latest period for which accounts are available.

It’s also important to understand what the R&A is, and how it operates.

The R&A group of companies was formed in 2004 to take on the The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ responsibilities for governing the rules of golf, staging The Open, and development of the game globally. In addition to The Open it also has responsibility for a series of more than 20 other championship and international matches at both amateur and professional level, virtually all of which are loss-making and rely to some degree on the redistribution of money generated from the sale of rights related to The Open.

Latest accounts filed with Companies House show that the R&A group generated £151.6m in turnover during 2023, up from £150.7m, but operating profit fell to £2.6m from £12.7m the previous year. Among the reasons given for this was higher investment in “delivering golf investment initiatives around the world”, including the opening of the new community-based entertainment facility Golf It! in Glasgow.

In this context the contribution from the Scottish Government could be cast in a different light as part of the bigger financial package needed to support the game beyond the events for the millionaires at the top of the men’s professional game.

Read more:

• Trump's Aberdeen golf course racks up another year of losses

It is not yet known when The Open will return to Scotland as the venues are announced for only the next two years, with Royal Portrush to be followed by Royal Birkdale in 2026. The contribution from the Scottish Government will go towards staging The Open, the AIG Women’s Open, and the Senior Open competitions held in the country during the period of the agreement.

“The partnership with the Scottish Government and VisitScotland ensures continuing support for staging our championships at renowned venues around the country, reinforcing Scotland’s international reputation as the home of golf and providing a world-class stage for hosting major sporting events,” outgoing R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.

“Independent studies have proven that major championship golf delivers significant economic benefits to Scotland by driving tourism, showcasing the country to a global audience and generating income for local communities and businesses. The results produced by the 152nd Open at Royal Troon reinforce this and we look forward to working with our partners in government over the next 10 years to stage a number of outstanding major championships in Scotland.”

Suggestions that this funding agreement will secure Scotland’s place in the world of championship golf are nonsense, but as Mr Slumbers points out, there are plenty of credible reasons for the government to support the game.