Golf legend Tiger Woods made his 2017 debut at the Farmers Insurance Open at the Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego this week and it looks like the pro’s presence is very good for business.
How good?
Farmers Insurance Open director Peter Ripa said Friday that tournament attendance and merchandise sales are already up as the tourney heads into the busy weekend rounds.
One of the biggest bumps in business has been online.
“It’s been fantastic. There’s been a huge bump in online sales, we’ve seen an increase of 65 percent over our peak year,” Ripa told NBC7 in an on-course interview.
[G] Tee Time: 2017 Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego
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When asked why the increase in interest, sales and attendance? Ripa simply said it’s the “Tiger Effect.”
“It’s exciting to see the numbers that we do have out here, so operationally we’re ramping up because Friday is often our biggest day,” he explained.
Huge groups of fans have been following Tiger the past two days – fans lining up six to 10 deep on some holes. When that group of spectators comes through the course, concession stands feel it.
“The groups that follow Tiger and Phil [Mickelson], they all hit the spots, so we have some beverage carts only for those groups,” said Ripa.
As Tiger goes, so goes golf. That’s how it’s been since Tiger burst on to the PGA Tour scene in the 1990’s, and that’s how it’s going at the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open.
The golf tournament – and the many fun, social activities that accompany it – runs through Sunday.
