SPORT BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN
‘We’ll lose money but this is an investment for us’
Kingsbarns calculates the exposure gained by hosting the Ricoh British Women’s Open will pay off in the long-term
BY KEVIN O’SULLIVAN I
t might not have the most famous greens and fairways in the Kingdom of Fife (think of a certain Royal & Ancient course), but Kingsbarns is
starting to hold its own on the world stage. In just 16 short years of its exis-
tence, this relative newcomer to the pantheon of great Scottish courses has already punched decidedly above its weight. Having played host to the pro-am Alfred Dunhill Links Championships – sharing the spoils with the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie - it can now look forward to hosting its very own event: the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2017, after being selected as the venue by organisers IMG Golf. Alan Hogg, Chief Executive of
the course, which was created by American golf course designer Kyle Phillips, tells EventsBase: “Since September 2011 one of my goals was to try and get Kingsbarns its own event. Te Alfred Dunhill Links Championships is one of the flag- ship events of the European Tour but it’s not specific to Kingsbarns. “So back in 2011 we already
started having discussions with IMG about other tournaments in their schedule that they were looking for hosts for; we were keen to put ourselves in the mix for that, and in 2013 an opportunity came up for the Ricoh Women’s British Open.” He added: “I actually thought at
the time that it would be great to have a women’s event, as opposed to men’s, because it was different and also because women’s golf has been developing, in terms of a game
The Ricoh Women’s British Open will be held at Kingsbarns, exposing the 16-year-old course to a global audience
“WOMEN’S GOLF HAS BEEN DEVELOPING, IN TERMS OF A GAME AND WITH THE EQUALITY AGENDA”
Alan Hogg, Chief Executive, Kingsbarns
and with the equality agenda. I thought it was important to make a statement and support that.” Kingsbarns was awarded the final
qualifying stage for the event when it took place at St Andrews in 2013 – where all the movers and shakers in golf were present - and the rest, as they say, is history. “We did have to prove though
that we could host the event,” Hogg says. “We had to demonstrate we could facilitate it, that the course would hold up to it, playability and infrastructure wise, and that we had enough areas around the
16 | EVENTSBASE | MARCH 2016
course for the TV coverage and hospitality. But the one thing in our favour was that the ladies and of- ficials loved the course.”
THE EVENT KICKS off on August 3, 2017, and already prepa- rations are well underway. Last year IMG worked out its traffic plans and how the tented hospitality village will look. It sounds like a real money spin-
ner but Hogg is quick to point out that the course will actually lose a “substantial, six-figure sum”. “It’s a loss of revenue for us,” he
says. “We’re a public, not a member, course that relies on daily green fees and we will be closed for eight days. But this is an investment for us; like the Alfred Dunhill Links, it’s a marketing tool. Tis has got mas- sive potential to give us exposure among visiting tourists from the US, Canada, but also the Asian market, which is huge for women’s golf.” Hogg then reels off some very
impressive media statistics, which shows the media coverage alone could potentially generate more
than 3,000 hours of TV coverage in 13,000 broadcasts across the globe. It has a total media equivalency of $92million, he states. Interestingly, the regional break-
downs for worldwide penetration show the event is rated as having 861 hours of TV coverage in Asia and 1,466 hours in Africa and the Middle East, compared to 407 hours in Europe, 284 in South and Central America and 42 hours in North America. “Kingsbarns really will be reach-
ing parts of the world that we don’t normally get to,” says Hogg. “Which is really important for us, especially in places like China where women’s golf is actually more popular than men’s.”
What: The Ricoh Women’s British Open Where: Kingsbarns Golf Course, Fife When: August 3, 2017
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