The Financial Details Behind The R&A
The R&A recognized record revenue off the heels of a landmark Open.
Every Monday, I write a newsletter breaking down the business in golf. Welcome to the 24 new Perfect Putt members who have joined us since last Monday. Join 7,021 intelligent and curious golfers by subscribing below.
Today At A Glance:
The R&A has seen its revenue increase by 50% over the last five years. The Open Championship has been a primary driver of that revenue. And the R&A is investing that money back into the players and the game of golf.
Read Time: 4 minutes.
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Hey Golfers —
The R&A governs the sport of golf worldwide, outside of the United States and Mexico, in 145 countries.
Included in the 28 championships the R&A oversees are its three professional events.
The Senior Open
AIG Women’s Open
The Open Championship
Last year was exceptional for the R&A — on many different levels. The group saw record revenue and attendance at the 150th Open Championship.
Here is a quick breakdown of the R&A.
200 employees
161 affiliated organizations
Revenues of $197 million in 2022
Based out of St Andrews with offices in Singapore and Argentina
The R&A had an incredible $45 million increase in revenue from 2021 to 2022. And since 2018, the R&A has managed to increase revenue by 50%.
Revenue for the R&A isn’t broken out by category — but we know that the Open Championship makes up a significant portion.
Key portions of revenue for The Open Championship.
Media rights
Sponsorships
Tickets and merchandise
In 2018 — NBC Sports signed a twelve-year deal with the R&A for $50 million per year to broadcast The Open Championship. Sky Sports also extended its media agreement with the R&A to 2024 for an undisclosed amount.
The Open Championship expects to see 260,000 fans at Royal Liverpool this year — coming off a record of 290,000 fans at St Andrews last year. The R&A sells tickets for eight days to The Open. And in my opinion — no one does tickets better than The Open.
Juniors under 16 get into the event for free. And final round tickets (the highest price) sell for $144.
Looking at competition rounds.
Let’s estimate that 70% of tickets sold are for competition rounds, which would average 45,000 fans per day for the four rounds.
If 70% of the 182,000 fans attending during competition rounds are older than 24, it leaves us with 127,000 fans. An average ticket price of $134 results in $17 million in revenue.
If 20% of the 182,000 fans attending competition rounds are from ages 16 — 24, it leaves us with 36,000 fans. An average ticket price of $66 results in $2.38 million in revenue.
Add on practice rounds and merchandise revenue, and The Open Championship is a boon for The R&A.
While The R&A has seen significant revenue increases in the last five years — players and charities have also benefited.
The Open Championship winner in 2018 won $1.89 million, and in 2022 Cam Smith won $2.5 million — an increase of 32% in five years.
And it’s even better for the AIG Women’s Open. In 2018 the winner won $490,000, and in 2022 Ashleigh Buhai won $1.09 million — an increase of 120% in five years.
In 2017 — the R&A committed to investing over $250 million in golf in various charitable ways by 2027. The R&A has cumulatively invested $150 million since 2017. The R&A invested $28 million and $26 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The money that the R&A invests comes directly from the profits of The Open.
Local economies benefit greatly from The Open. Last year’s Open at St Andrews benefited the local economy by around $400 million. Of that $400 million — $140 million was new money entering the economy. While the other $260 million was valued in destination marketing benefits.
Here is how last year’s Open stacked up against the previous three from a local economic benefit.
2018 — $143 million
2019 — $120 million
2021 — $136 million
It’s been fantastic to see the record attendance and the massive economic impact The Open provides. It will be fun to see how the growth of the R&A will continue to positively impact the game.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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