Open Championship Tickets: Under-16s Go Free
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The 155th Open runs 11–18 July 2027 at St Andrews, and it has the most generous access policy of any major championship on this site: under-16s go free when accompanied by an adult.
The ballot ran 6–24 July 2026 and has closed. Results are being issued in waves through August and September 2026, with every applicant receiving a final outcome by the end of September — so if you entered, an answer is due imminently.
What 2027 Open tickets cost
| Day | Price |
|---|---|
| Practice days | £40 – £70 |
| Round 1 (Thursday) | £150 |
| Round 2 (Friday) | £170* |
| Round 3 (Saturday) | £170 |
| Round 4 (Sunday) | £190 |
| Under-16s, with an adult | Free |
*Both opening rounds are priced at £150; Saturday is £170 and Sunday £190.
Practice days are the value ticket
At £40 to £70, a practice day at St Andrews is the cheapest way into a men’s major championship, and it buys access to the Old Course with players actually on it.
That is the same pattern we found at Augusta, where practice rounds cost $125 to $150 against $160 for a tournament round and carry a higher per-applicant allowance — covered in our guide to Masters tickets. If the goal is to walk a famous course rather than watch the closing holes on Sunday, the practice day is the better purchase almost everywhere.
One Club is the gate, and it is free
You cannot enter the ballot without being a member of One Club, the R&A’s free-to-join digital membership programme presented by Mastercard.
This is the recurring lesson across every event we have covered. The account requirement comes before the window, it cannot be satisfied retrospectively, and it is free. The Ryder Cup required a rydercup.com account before its ballot opened; Wimbledon requires myWimbledon; the Rugby World Cup required an RWC ticketing account.
If you want to attend the 2028 Open, join One Club now rather than next July.
Where The Open sits among the majors
| Event | Public route | Cheapest genuine entry | Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Open 2027 | Ballot via One Club | £40 practice day | Under-16s free |
| The Masters 2027 | Ballot only | $125 practice round, if drawn | Paid |
| Ryder Cup 2027 | Ballot only | €89 practice day, if drawn | Paid |
| Wimbledon | Ballot, plus the Queue | ~£15 on-site resale | Paid |
The Open occupies a genuinely different position. It costs more than Augusta for a competition day — £190 against $160 — but it is the only one of the three golf events where a child gets in for nothing, and its practice-day pricing is the lowest.
Against the Ryder Cup’s €499 match day, it looks inexpensive for a major staged at the Home of Golf.
The ballot pattern, confirmed again
The Open is the sixth major event whose 2027 public window we have found already closed. The full picture:
| Event | 2027 public window |
|---|---|
| Rugby World Cup | 19 May – 2 June 2026 |
| Super Bowl LXI | ~1 February – 1 June 2026 |
| Masters | 1–20 June 2026 |
| Ryder Cup | 3–29 June 2026 |
| The Open | 6–24 July 2026 |
| Six Nations (England home) | 26 Aug – 23 Sept 2026 |
Five of the six closed between May and July 2026. Only the Six Nations club window remains open, and it shuts on 23 September. Our guide to sports ticket ballots tracks all of them.
What to do now
- If you entered, watch your inbox. Results come in waves and all outcomes are due by the end of September 2026.
- If you did not, join One Club today. Free, and it is the precondition for the 2028 ballot.
- Apply for a practice day as well as a competition round. Cheaper, easier to obtain, and better value at St Andrews.
- Bring children. Under-16s are free with an adult, which no other major on this list matches.
How we checked these numbers
Prices, the 6–24 July 2026 ballot window, the One Club requirement, the waves of results through August and September 2026 and the under-16 policy are from The Open’s own ticket ballot and tickets pages, corroborated by Bunkered, Golf Monthly and Today’s Golfer reporting of the R&A’s price announcement. Championship dates are from The Open.
One correction worth noting: the 2027 Open is at St Andrews, not Royal Birkdale. Birkdale hosted the 154th Open in 2026, and the two are frequently confused in secondary sources.
Review class: event-driven. Recheck when all ballot outcomes are issued at the end of September 2026, and again when the 2028 ballot dates and prices are announced.
Frequently asked questions
How much are Open Championship tickets for 2027?+
£150 for each of the opening two rounds, £170 for Saturday and £190 for Sunday's final round at St Andrews. Practice days are considerably cheaper at £40 to £70 for adults, and under-16s go free when accompanied by an adult.
Can I still get tickets for the 2027 Open?+
Not through the ballot, which ran from Monday 6 July to Friday 24 July 2026 and has closed. Results are being released in waves through August and September 2026, with all applicants receiving a final outcome by the end of September. Hospitality and travel packages remain available separately.
How does The Open ticket ballot work?+
You must be a member of One Club — the R&A's free-to-join digital membership programme, presented by Mastercard — before you can enter. The ballot then opens for around three weeks, and successful applicants are notified in waves rather than all at once.
Do children get in free at The Open?+
Yes. Under-16s go free when accompanied by an adult, which is the most generous family policy of any major championship covered on this site. It applies across the championship rather than only on practice days.
When is the 2027 Open Championship?+
The 155th Open runs from 11 to 18 July 2027 at St Andrews, the Home of Golf. The first days are practice rounds, with competition across the closing four days and the final round on Sunday 18 July.
Are Open practice days worth it?+
For value, they are the strongest ticket in major championship golf. At £40 to £70 you get access to the Old Course with players practising, at a fraction of the £190 final-round price. It is the same logic that makes Masters practice rounds the realistic route in at Augusta.
Is The Open cheaper than other majors?+
It sits in the middle. The Masters charges $160 for a tournament round but rations access by ballot alone, while a Ryder Cup match day costs €499. The Open's £190 final round is more than Augusta and far less than the Ryder Cup — and it is the only one of the three where children go free.
Sources
- The Open: ticket ballot, the 155th Open at St Andrews
- The Open: tickets and hospitality, the 155th Open
- The Open: ticket ballot now open for St Andrews 2027
- Bunkered: R&A reveals ticket prices for the 2027 Open at St Andrews
- Golf Monthly: The Open ballot, how to get 2027 St Andrews tickets
- Today's Golfer: how to get tickets for the 2027 Open at St Andrews
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