The DP World Tour has witnessed record ticket sales across its key summer events, including four of the Tour’s most historic golf tournaments.
Rolex Series events the BMW PGA Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open, as well as the Betfred British Masters and the Horizon Irish Open, have all enjoyed a record 20 sold out days for general admission tickets and premium hospitality.
The 2022 PGA Championship saw a 30% increase in ticket sales compared to the previous year, with three of the four competition days full sold out. The event was cut to 54-holes following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The 2022 Scottish Open in June, co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour for the first time, saw a 12% increase in ticket sales compared to pre-Covid sales in 2019. The 2022 Irish Open in July also witnessed a 40% in ticket sales in 2019 and weekend tickets sold out for the first time in the tournament’s history.
The 2022 British Masters hosted by Danny Willett in May also enjoyed a sold-out final day with a 4% increase in ticket sales compared to 2019.
Attendance figures across all four tournaments amounted to 271,000 and premium hospitality packages enjoyed complete sell-outs across all days at the Scottish Open, PGA Championship and Irish Open.
The ticketing success has led to a 32% increase in ticketing and hospitality revenue for the four tournaments in 2022, when compared to 2019. There has also been a 39% increase in the number of female ticket buyers for DP World Tour events compared to 2019.
The success has been driven in part by the creation of Tour Consumer Experiences, which is a joint venture with sports marketing and data technology company, Two Circles. DP World Tour is able to utilise Two Circles’ insights into fan behaviour and technology-driven sales and marketing capabilities.
Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour group, said: “Golf has enjoyed a significant boom in popularity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with its outdoor nature allowing an earlier return to action than most sports – helping to attract new fans to the game. The DP World Tour has worked hard to make sure that we utilise this momentum and find innovative ways to attract new fans to our tournaments.
“We have enjoyed a record summer of golf, with big name players competing for record prize funds and spectators have turned out in record numbers to watch. The DP World Tour has never been in such a strong position, and we expect this momentum to continue into the final few months of the 2022 season with November’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai already enjoying record registrations to attend.”