The Open Championship Finishing On Monday: "There were a lot more families in the crowd than any of the other days."

Before we leave St. Andrews behind, I'm going to milk every drop out of this remarkable place both here and with my sticks!

Which also means while I'm out and about collecting a few more thoughts and insights from locals, let's try not to dwell too much on the negative. Except that we just had a 10-hour major championship delay, Monday finish and the third such play suspension in a row at an Old Course major. This is not acceptable.

With rumblings around town that the greenkeepers were overruled on a roll-instead-of-mow strategy for the putting surfaces prior to the forecasted winds, the R&A may be directly to blame for not having kept control of the links, making their 60% refund to fans paying 80 pounds a questionable (and unwieldy) solution.

From Martin Dempster's excellent assessment of the week.

High winds, of course, then became the next problem on Saturday but, alas, the R&A initially got it wrong with their attempt to tackle those conditions. Starting play on time was a gamble that should not have been taken and, in fairness, chief executive Peter Dawson did admit that in hindsight. In the final throes of his tenure – Martin Slumbers, who shadowed Dawson at the event, takes over the reins later in the year – a ten-and-a-half-hour suspension of play certainly wouldn’t have been on the wish list for the week. Nor would a decision about refunds and it is safe to say that Dawson may well have some heavy mail bags landing on his desk before heading off into the sunset because 60 per cent on a ticket costing £80 seems like short-changing spectators when they saw less than four hours of golf.

There was a silver lining. Many around town are noting that they either witnessed or heard about an unparalleled day here for golf viewing Monday. Alcohol was virtually non-existent on site and there was an air of youthful excitement thanks to the prices. Dempster writes:

In truth, the decision to extend the event into the Monday for only the second time in its history became the only one available to the R&A and, in a roundabout way, it may have actually helped attract some newcomers to the game.

Taking advantage of a day ticket at £10, many in an attendance of 35,370 may not have been at the event otherwise and, moreover, there were a lot more families in the crowd than any of the other days.

It was also pointed out to me that the corporate world had exited the stage, leaving the day almost solely to golf fans. Combine that with the civility and exuberance in the air, and it's something to note for all the grow the game crowd the next time they sit down to prioritize and set ticket prices, especially in this part of the world.

Comments

[Easingwold]

@ Nancy,
Been a sports fan all my life. There are some teams where I lived I'll always follow, one where I didn't live I always will as well. Golf wise, I have my own golf heros I'll always respect and want to do well. I love some sports, golf being the greatest of those for me.
But when you mention egos with fans,I tend to think of casual fans who attatch themselves to someone because they dominate, but couldn't care less about the sport, such as some Tiger fans who never hit a ball but shout loud for him, only to disappear as he fades away, never to return. " Fans " like that generally create some of the some of the so called hate aimed at Tiger at times. It reminds me of hate between supporters of rival teams.
In Froom's case, he should be innocent until proven guilty, but I'm guessing that what happened in the wake of Armstrong's guilt, isn't that surprising. If someone was leading and doping, the greatest cycle event would struggle for some time IMO

[Ted B. (Charging Rhino)]

Why were the food and beverage concessions not available on Monday? Their temporary licenses didn't include Monday? Or was it related to the local Holiday in Fife? Seems odd since they knew on Saturday that there would be a full day of golf Monday -- and tens of thousands of thirsty and hungry spectators.

[Pro from Dover]

Ted B. Surely they would consider the possibility, even the remote possibility of the event extending into Monday when applying for their temp license. You would think it wouldn't really cost that much more, could it? Can't figure that one out. They (vendors) lost a lot of money -- not sure, perhaps they would have to pay the R&A additional %?????

Couldn't figure it out --- there were a couple of the smaller vendors behind the stand on #1 fairway; one was a coffee / hot chocolate vendor that had a massive line. And the second was a little ice cream vendor that was selling ice cream like it was going out of style, on a day that you think would be conducive to selling ice cream............the three large food vendors and the Stella Beer vendors were locked up tighter than Dick's hatband.

Not sure what the holiday was, other than a "summer" holiday....not sure this is a major holiday as the businesses in the village were open!

[nancy]

@Easingwold...I've been a sport fan, too, and have worked in sport for USOC, tennis, etc,. but also just have passion for all sport. You cite some interesting topics. In terms of Froom and doping in cycling...that's always an issue. Interesting to watch as they climb the mountains, the heart rate and look at the mouth in terms of breath intake at high altitudes. Also, I like to "study" fans since I am a fan, myself. I love golf as a sport and not so much interested in "teams" because I'm interested in individual sport -one man/woman, one ball. Team sports take it into a whole other level.

[Colin MacGillivray]

Good thing we weren't betting on who would win:
Paul Dunne(a) 3% 28
Louis Oosthuizen 24% 200
Jason Day 20% 168
Jordan Spieth 37% 307
Padraig Harrington 4% 35
Justin Rose 2% 15
Adam Scott 2% 18
Someone else 7% 60

831 total
- See more at: http://poll.pollcode.com/22282841_result?v#sthash.C4r2NA99.dpuf

[Belowpar]

Surely the concession stands were private businesses beyond the call of the R&A? Licences were from the council?

I think the R&A have plenty to answer for but lets stick to the real issues?

[A golfer]

Carl,

Your comment about the US Junior being played at 7600 yards is wrong. According to the course statistics on their website, they played 7198 the first day and 7150 the second. 7600 is if you maxed out every tee which is never done.

[Carl Peterson]

@A,

This was my source: https://twitter.com/USGA/status/623527104529985536

Perhaps it was in error or perhaps the setup was maxed out for Round 2.

[Joe Ezar]

Below par real issues? what is not real about 38K people at a major sporting event and they can't get a bottle of water? Or a morsel of refreshments? The fans are as much a part of the event as the players. just another mishap that should have been covered pre-tournament.

You don't think that is a real issue?

[ol Harv]

" The fans are as much a part of the event as the players."

Aha. Agreed, they should be, but sounds like they weren't.