LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Ticketmaster UK Ltd. announces it has been appointed by the Royal and Ancient as their exclusive third party ticket retail partner for the 2009 Open Golf Championship, and as their ticketing technology provider.
The R&A is working alongside Ticketmaster to introduce a new ticketing system for The Open Championship.
For the 2009 Open at Turnberry, computerized tickets will be used for general admittance to the site instead of traditional swing-badges. Each ticket will have a unique barcode which will be scanned upon entry using Ticketmaster's access control system, AccessManager, quickly enabling staff at the gates to identify counterfeit tickets and provide organizers with real-time attendance reports and statistics.
Of the new partnership, R&A Director of Championships, David Hill, said, "We look forward to working closely with Ticketmaster, drawing upon their sporting experience and technology in providing our customers with the most innovative and flexible ticketing service available."
"While developing this relationship, we will still retain one of the most important and unique elements of The Open in continuing to offer tickets for sale at the gate."
Chris Edmonds, Managing Director of Ticketmaster UK, added, "The Open Championship is one of the top events in the World sports calendar and we are delighted to be working with The R&A to provide their ticketing retail as well as supplying our AccessManager system."
An Open Championship daily ticket on the four Championship days (16-19 July 2009) costs GBP55. Under-16's will continue to be admitted free of charge and concessions are available. Season tickets are also still available at a discounted rate. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
