SGBGolf_Aug08_p26_27 24/7/08 12:34 Page 26
O p e n r e p o r t
99 and out
The Open Championship’s Merchandise Pavilion may have enjoyed a roaring trade
at Royal Birkdale, but the same could not have been said of the Exhibition tent
Words: Robin Barwick
Paul Lawrie made a welcome appearance in the Merchandise Pavilion
T
iger Woods was not the only significant absentee from the 137th Open “It is a great shame there is no exhibition tent this year,” Farquhar tells SGB Golf. “It
Championship (and no, this is not a reference to Kenny Perry, the American is due to declining interest from the exhibitors themselves: the manufacturers, tourist
who declined the opportunity to put his recent run of form to the test, or to the boards and destinations. Over the years companies have used the Exhibition to launch
injured Luke Donald). The other notable absentee was one on the verge of an new products, but it has gradually declined, and this year it got to a level where it just
historic milestone, the Open’s Exhibition tent. didn’t make sense to put up that size of tent.”
The British Golf Museum has confirmed that the Open’s famous Exhibition was first Despite the Exhibition tent being run on a break-even basis, Farquhar has been told
staged in 1908 at Prestwick, so 2008 would have been its centenary. that companies need to spend their marketing budgets away from exhibitions.
The Exhibition tent used to be a bustling, eclectic convergence of club-fitters, artists, Widely considered the world’s foremost golf bookseller, Aberdeenshire-based Rhod
mad inventors and sole traders alongside established brands, but since the R&A McEwan is an enthusiastic proponent of the Open’s 21st century Merchandise Pavilion,
changed direction and reduced the Exhibition to a smaller, more sanitised collection where he set-up shop for the week, yet he fondly remembers the exhibition tent of old.
of major companies and tourist boards in 2001, interest has dwindled to the point “The exhibition tent was a celebration of golf, for everyone connected with the
where it was not feasible this year, according to Angus Farquhar, commercial director game,” says McEwan, who first exhibited in 1992. “It was the highlight of the year for
of the R&A. me, but I am also very happy to be here in 2008. We have set-up our little corner like a
26 AUGUST 2008 - SGB GOLF
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86