St Andrews, Scotland: The R&A has launched a new version of TheOpen.com with its digital agency, Delete, to enhance the digital presence for golf’s original championship ahead of its historic return to the famous links of Royal Portrush in July.

The purpose of the new website is to give fans the best experience of The Open, whether they are attending the Championship or following it online along with millions of others around the world.

TheOpen.com will re-engage existing fans and capture new ones with a refreshed website that pushes The Open to the forefront as one of the world’s leading sporting events.

Features of the new website include:

• As mobile interaction is now the key fan touchpoint for The Open, the website has been crafted to deliver a truly mobile-first experience.
• An enriched broadcast hub for news, players and featured content from The Open.
• ‘The Road to The Open’ – a new feature on the site focused around players and qualification – designed to build up a story of players’ pathways to The Open through differing qualification events.
• Enhanced player profiles to celebrate both current stars and past legends.
• More focus around the host venues themselves, with rich timelines and content that bring to life the next three tournaments and ensure fans know where they can catch the action in person.
• New streamlined ticketing journey – delivering a new and improved customer experience around the ticket buying journey – across both championship days and hospitality.
• Enhanced media capability enabling fans to enjoy multiple ways in which to consume rich content, including a range of video content from The Open’s rich archive spanning over 100 years.

Kevin McQuillan, Head of Marketing at The R&A, said: “While heritage and tradition are important to The Open’s standing as one of the world’s most revered sporting events, it is also vital that innovation enables the Championship to grow its following worldwide.

“We are delighted with the new platform Delete have developed, which will enable us to provide fans with an immersive, enriched year-round experience.”

Damon Mangos, Head of Strategy at Delete, added: “We are delighted to be working with such a prestigious organisation as The R&A, and on one of the world’s most iconic sports Championships. With the battle for fan attention never greater, The R&A team briefed us to deliver a website that would lead not only within the golf industry but also in the wider sports world. We believe we have delivered on this.”

The 148th Open at Royal Portrush takes place from July 18-21 and will be responsible for driving the majority of this year’s traffic to TheOpen.com.

The initial launch in February is focused on boosting interest and engagement in the build up to the Championship throughout qualifying and creating a year-round destination for golf fans.

By July, the second major phase of the website will be released to coincide with the Championship’s staging in Northern Ireland. The new live takeover event mode for the site will deliver a best-in-class digital fan experience and better convey the drama and excitement of The Open.