201,000 attended 'really great'
Open at Royal Birkdale

FROM THE R&A WEBSITE
Despite the appalling weather that prevailed for much of the week, 201,000 people attended the 137th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. This puts the attendance in the top three of all time for an Open held away from St Andrews.
"I think getting over 200,000 people in this week was a fantastic achievement, given the weather, the commercial environment and the Tiger Woods situation," said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A.
"All credit to golf fans in this part of the country."
Dawson also paid tribute to Padraig Harrington's willingness to put something back into the game, and added that the Championship had run very smoothly with very few problems coming his way during the week.
David Hill, Director of Championships at The R&A, also praised the golf fans of north-west England not only for their hardy attendance, but also for their impeccable behaviour and their purchasing of fish and chips in record numbers: an estimated 30,000 people enjoyed fish and chips at Birkdale this week.
For all that, it was the excitement of the golf tournament itself that will be most remembered, with all talk of the absence of Tiger Woods being forgotten long before the drama came to a conclusion on Sunday.
Michael Brown, Chairman of The R&A Championship Committee, summed it up perfectly. "I think it will come to be seen as one of the really great Opens," he said. "It was thrilling and compelling golf in exceptionally challenging conditions."