Bridgend Council’s Cabinet is set to approve £50,000 in funding to support the Senior (Men’s) Open Championship, which will be held at the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club between 27-30th July 2023 (pdf).
It’ll be the third time the event has been held in Porthcawl, with Porthcawl previously hosted the Senior Open in 2014 and 2017. BCBC estimates this drew in a combined 75,000 attendees and generating at least £15million in economic and media exposure benefits.
The aim for 2023 is to attract around 38,000 attendees and generate at least £3million for the local economy, with Bridgend Council asked to contribute £50,000 as part of a Rights Agreement. This money will help cover costs relating to parking, highways control, staffing and promotional activities. In return, BCBC will be allowed to use its Senior Open host status in marketing etc.
The longer-term goal is to use the hosting of the Senior Open as part of plans to develop a venue capable of hosting The (Men’s) Open Championship itself at some point in the future.
The Open has never been hosted in Wales and hosts until 2025 have already been selected – so the earliest Porthcawl could host it is 2026.
