Considering its long history and recognition as America’s national championship, it’s hardly a surprise that the third Major of the year, the US Open, is one of golf’s most well-attended events. The 2025 edition is also being held at one of the US Open’s anchor sites, the legendary Oakmont, which is hosting the tournament for a record 10th time.
It’s the first time the Pennsylvania course has had the honor since 2016, and back then, around 230,000 fans flocked to the venue during the week, and a similar number is expected this week.
While official figures of tickets sold have not been released, it is widely reported that upwards of 200,000 people are expected to attend overall, with tickets for all four days of the event sold out, albeit with some practice round tickets still available at the start of the week.
Ahead of the tournament, USGA CEO Mike Whan elaborated on the expected attendance, saying: "I'll bet all in we'll have about 40,000 people on-site here on Saturday, 40,000 people on Sunday, and probably similar tomorrow and Friday."
The interest in the event has also been praised the USGA's chief commercial officer Jon Podany telling CBS News: "The tremendous response from golf fans in Pittsburgh, across the country and around the world demonstrates the excitement about the US Open coming back to Oakmont.
“We appreciate the loyalty of US Open spectators and are confident that this year's championship, being played at one of our three anchor sites, will provide a very memorable experience for all attendees."
The number of anticipated fans is also not dissimilar to the 2024 edition, when around 225,000 visited Pinehurst No.2. But how does the number compare to the previous two Majors so far this year? It’ll be in a similar region to the number who attended the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, where 200,000 were estimated to have watched the action, while it’s significantly more than The Masters at Augusta National, which limits tickets to around 90,000 patrons.
However, the number of fans expected to flock to Oakmont is significantly smaller than the record Major attendances, with 295,000 fans reportedly watching the 2008 US Open, which went to a fifth day as Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in sudden-death after an 18-hole playoff. In 2022, around 290,000 fans were present for the 150th Open at St Andrews.
Even those figures are still dwarfed by the PGA Tour event known as The People’s Open, the WM Phoenix Open, where around 700,000 fans are expected throughout the week each year.
