More Than Glastonbury! How The Open Attendance Stacks Up vs The Other Majors (And Non-Golf Events)

If you’ve been watching The Open on TV, you’ll no doubt have noticed the huge crowds, with packed galleries and long lines of fans behind the ropes at Royal Birkdale enjoying world-class golf in unbroken sunshine.

That’s hardly surprising considering the world-class field at the tournament, along with its storied history and prestige, all of which combine to make it one of the most famous and loved golf events worldwide.

But how does the attendance compare to the other Majors? And what about other big non-golf events?

In 2025, the Royal Portrush edition broke attendance records for The Open held outside St Andrews, when 278,000 fans filed through the gates during the week, 90,000 of whom attended the practice days.

The overall attendance is not too far short of the last time The Open was held at the Home of Golf, in 2022 for its 150th edition.

That historic week, 290,000 attended St Andrews, which set a record for the tournament.

Could that record be broken at Royal Birkdale? We’ll have to wait a while for official figures to be released, but it was widely reported ahead of the tournament that 300,000 were expected throughout the week.

It’s worth noting that The Open doesn’t always attract such numbers. For example, in 2018, when it came from Carnoustie, the official attendance was 172,000, while COVID-19 restrictions limited the number to 128,300 at Royal St George's in 2021.

However, in the post-pandemic era, there have been upwards of 250,000 attending each year.

The first Major of the year is The Masters, but, like many of the elements that set it apart from other events, where attendances are concerned, Augusta National does things a little differently.

Augusta National deliberately limits attendance to preserve the spectator experience, while it also doesn’t release official attendance figures.

However, it is estimated that around 40,000 golf fans – or patrons – pass through the gates between Thursday and Sunday.

As for the practice round, The Bleacher Report stated as many as 50,000 come out in force to watch the world's best go through their preparations from Monday to Wednesday, which would put the overall figure at around 90,000.

More than double that number were thought to have attended the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink, with the week reported to have attracted 200,000 fans – the same figure that was reported for the 2025 edition at Quail Hollow and at Valhalla in 2024.

Sometimes, the US Open beats both The Masters and the PGA Championship for attendance figures, but it generally doesn’t get close to the biggest weeks at The Open – except once.

That came in 2008, when 295,000 attended the US Open at Torrey Pines, a number swelled by the week going into an eighth day as Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff.

Usually, it it's considerably lower than that number. For example, for the 2024 edition at Pinehurst No.2, it was reported that an estimated 225,000 were in attendance overall.

Last year’s event at Oakmont was thought to have been watched by upwards of 200,000 fans, with USGA CEO Mike Whan telling reporters ahead of the event: "I'll bet all in we'll have about 40,000 people on-site here on Saturday, 40,000 people on Sunday, and probably similar tomorrow and Friday."

However, there was a drop-off for the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, where daily attendance on tournament days was reportedly capped at less than 30,000, with Sports Business Journal reporting that around 155,000 fans attended in total.

Partly because of that, and partly because Long Island is a remote part of the country, it was noticeable towards the end of rounds how few fans stuck around for the duration, with some opting to leave early to ensure they were in time for the last train to Manhattan.

Given all that, we can conclude that, in recent years at least, The Open regularly beats the other three Majors for overall week-long attendances.

Even then, it can't beat the golf tournament with the largest attendance of all, the WM Phoenix Open, which attracts over 700,000 throughout the week.

But how does The Open's attendance compare to other big non-golf events around the world?

Music festivals are known to attract huge crowds, and there are several in the US that The Open can't get close to for attendance, with the likes of Coachella, Summerfest, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits all beating it.

The biggest of the lot is Coachella, which takes place across two weekends in April. Per Statista.com, in 2025, 750,000 descended on Empire Polo Club in Indio, California over the six days in 2025.

Nevertheless, The Open still puts other big US music festivals in the shade, attendance-wise.

For example, Stagecoach Country Music Festival, which is held soon after Coachella at the same venue, drew a total audience of 240,000 in 2025 - 38,000 less than The Open at Royal Portrush.

The Open even beats the UK's legendary annual Glastonbury Festival, with around 200,000 descending on the site each year and 210,000 the reported figure for 2025.

So, how does The Open hold up against other huge sporting events? In the US, the Indy 500 attracts the largest single-day attendance for a sporting event, with an attendance of around 350,000 each year.

Per Two Circles, The Open holds its own among some of the top sporting events the UK has to offer, but it can’t get close to the very biggest.

Top of the list is the legendary Grand Slam tennis tournament, Wimbledon, which attracted a huge 548,000 fans in 2025, albeit over the course of two weeks.

F1 is next, with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone bringing in 500,000 fans in 2025.

Horse racing was third on the list, with Royal Ascot drawing 286,000 fans, eight thousand more than The Open at Royal Portrush, which came fourth.

Estimated Men's Major Attendances (2026)

Selected Attendances At Non-Golf Events (2025)