{"id":4643,"date":"2012-06-21T14:03:55","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T13:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=4643"},"modified":"2012-06-21T14:15:29","modified_gmt":"2012-06-21T13:15:29","slug":"irish-open-%e2%80%98sold-out%e2%80%99-at-weekend-advance-ticket-sale-ends-on-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2012\/06\/irish-open-%e2%80%98sold-out%e2%80%99-at-weekend-advance-ticket-sale-ends-on-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Open \u2018SOLD OUT\u2019 at weekend – advance ticket sale ends on Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saturday and Sunday sell out for first time in European Tour history <\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
SELL-OUT SUCCESS: Next week\u0092s Irish Open at Royal Portrush has officially sold out on Saturday June 30 and Sunday July 1, and time is running out to book tickets in advance for Thursday June 28 and Friday June 29. The European Tour announced today that, for the first time in its history, it has had to close tickets sales for any day of a regular Tour event as the Irish Open became the bestselling tournament on the schedule this year. Spectators were also urged to book tickets for Thursday and Friday in advance although the deadline to do that is 5pm tomorrow (Friday). While it may be possible to purchase day tickets for those days on the gate, that definitely won\u0092t be an option on the Saturday and Sunday which are completely sold out. The European Tour is also urging spectators to plan their journeys in advance by booking Translink rail and bus services or, if travelling by car, to follow dedicated event car park signage in order to facilitate the ease of access and exit to the event. Pictured is Northern Ireland Tourist Board Chief Executive Alan Clarke and Antonia Beggs, Irish Open Tournament Director for the European Tour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEXT week\u2019s Irish Open at Royal Portrush has officially sold out on Saturday June 30 and Sunday July 1, and time is running out to book tickets in advance for Thursday June 28 and Friday June 29.<\/p>\n

The European Tour announced today that, for the first time in its history, it has had to close tickets sales for any day of a regular Tour event as the Irish Open became the bestselling tournament on the schedule this year.<\/p>\n

Spectators were also urged to book tickets for Thursday and Friday in advance although the deadline to do that is 5pm tomorrow (Friday).\u00a0 While it may be possible to purchase day tickets for those days on the gate, that definitely won\u2019t be an option on the Saturday and Sunday which are completely sold out.<\/p>\n

The European Tour is also urging spectators to plan their journeys in advance by booking Translink rail and bus services or, if travelling by car, to follow dedicated event car park signage in order to facilitate the ease of access and exit to the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are preparing for a crowd around the 100,000 mark for the week of the Championship, and with a particularly large spectator audience expected for the weekend, we felt it prudent to stop selling tickets for Saturday and Sunday,\u201d said Irish Open Championship Director Antonia Beggs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor operational reasons we also have to close the sale of advance tickets for Thursday and Friday at 5pm this Friday.\u00a0 Due to the close proximity to the event, it would be impossible to guarantee that tickets bought after this Friday would arrive in time for the start of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) Chief Executive Alan Clarke said that this year\u2019s tournament will be a record-breaking success and reiterated that people cannot turn up at the weekend without a ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s Irish Open is sure to be one of the biggest in the competition\u2019s history with advance ticket sales reaching unprecedented levels and record crowds expected in Co. Antrim.\u201d said Clarke.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile in previous years, it may have been possible for spectators to turn up on the day and purchase tickets on the day, we would strongly urge people not to try this on Saturday and Sunday as the event is completely sold out at the weekend and there is absolutely no chance of being admitted without a ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis reflects the tremendous interest in the competition this year but really it comes as no surprise to us given the fact that it\u2019s the first time the Irish Open has been held in Northern Ireland for 59 years, and of course the incredible success in recent years of our golfers, who are all taking part in the Championship alongside a host of other top players,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Irish Open is the latest in a packed programme of major events, celebrations and commemorations during 2012 which are changing the global perception of Northern Ireland as a destination and restoring a sense of pride to everyone who lives here.\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Beggs added: \u201cIt is important that the spectators enjoy the experience of attending the event so we are reminding everyone to follow the official Automobile Association event signage to and from the tournament rather than rely on \u2018SatNav technology\u2019 as the signs will direct spectators to the best available car park at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about dedicated rail and bus services, Translink\u2019s Arthur Hamilton encouraged anyone travelling to the Irish Open to book train or coach tickets now to guarantee their seats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to normal scheduled services, extra trains will run from Belfast and Derry\u2013Londonderry to Portrush with tickets available to book online or purchase in advance from main train stations,\u201d said Arthur.<\/p>\n

\u201cDedicated golf coach services will depart locations across Northern Ireland and are available to book online only. \u00a0Ulsterbus Tours is also offering both travel and Irish Open ticket packages.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf rail service online ticket bookings will close at 2pm three days prior to travel. However, additional rail tickets will also be available to purchase from selected stations on day of travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf coach ticket bookings will close at 5pm on day prior to travel and are only available to purchase online<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf coach and train return services are \u00a315 per adult and \u00a37.50 per child. Ulsterbus Tours packages are \u00a340 per person,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

For travel information including bus and rail ticket bookings click www.translink.co.uk\/irishopen<\/a> or call the Translink contact centre on 00 44 (0) 28 9066 6630.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday and Sunday sell out for first time in European Tour history NEXT week\u2019s Irish Open at Royal Portrush has officially sold out on Saturday June 30 and Sunday July 1, and time is running out to book tickets in advance for Thursday June 28 and Friday June 29. The European Tour announced today that, … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4643"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4650,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4643\/revisions\/4650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}