Golf fans are coming out in droves with return to normal at this year’s Wichita Open
This is the week when friends, friends of friends and long-lost relatives start inundating Roy Turner with ticket requests to the Wichita Open.
Usually, for a select few, Turner is able to accommodate the requests. Not this year.
After the 2020 version of the golf tournament had to go without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Wichita Open this week will have a full-capacity crowd with Wichita’s largest outdoor party returning to the 17th hole at Crestview Country Club starting on Thursday.
Turner says the Korn Ferry Tour event has been sold out of hospitality tickets for all four days of the tournament for a while now. Only general admission tickets are available through the Wichita Open website.
“I’ve got no tickets because we’re sold out of everything,” said Turner, the long-time tournament director. “It’s very exciting and it’s a lot of very hard work to put this all together. I’ve been doing this for 23 years and this is the most excitement about the event I’ve ever seen.”
With temperatures expected to hover around 100 degrees for all four days of the tournament, Turner still expects this to be the most well-attended tournament in Wichita Open history.
He suspects Wichitans are excited to be able to attend sporting events with other people again. Because the event is outdoors in hot weather and with the growing number of vaccinations in Wichita, he believes everyone will be able to do so safely.
“I think everybody has a little cabin fever, but I think there’s also a real excitement about this event,” Turner said. “It inspires me. I get excited about this tournament when I see people’s reaction to the tournament. It’s been incredible. We’re completely sold out of hospitality for the first time ever. I think everyone is anxious to get this thing going again.”
The professional golfers on the Korn Ferry Tour, who began to arrive in Wichita on Tuesday, are also excited to have fans back in the stands.
“I’m not alone when I say we look forward to this tournament on the tour,” said Brady Schnell, who won the 2018 Wichita Open. “It’s always a good stop for us. You can tell the community is really behind it and they always have a bunch of people that come out. It’s fun to see everyone in the stands and see people having fun at a golf tournament.”
And of course, he’s looking forward to the rowdy atmosphere awaiting golfers on the Par 3 green on hole No. 17.
“It’s definitely more of a PGA Tour vibe on that hole for sure,” Schnell said. “You love to hear the buzz of the crowd and the constant murmur and people just having fun. They’re watching a little golf, talking with their friends and having a good time. It’s just a fun environment for everyone.”
For fans attending the event, spectator parking will be at Beechcraft, located between Webb and Greenwich along Central, and will cost $6 with all proceeds going to the Wichita YMCA. A shuttle service will transport guests to the course starting one hour before the start of play and stopping one hour after end of play.
VIP parking (credentials required) will be at EastPoint Church of Christ, located between Central and 13th St. on 127th St. N. Shuttle vans will also transport guests to the course.
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