Scottish police are ready to seal off St Andrews if the record crowds
continue to pour in for the British Open here this weekend.
Senior officers in Fife said crowd safety comes first as the Royal and
Ancient announced that 47,000 people turned up to watch today's play.
The previous record was 45,500 at the 1990 Open here.
For yesterday's opening round there was a record 39,000 spectators and there
are fears the numbers could swell to 60,000 a day over the weekend.
With Tiger Woods attempting to become the youngest player in history to
complete a golfing slam - all four Majors - and the perfect weather, golf
fans want to share in his moment of history.
"We are taking a common sense approach to the numbers. The space inside St
Andrews is finite. There can only be a limited amount of people and a limited
amount of vehicles before there is gridlock," said a police spokesman.
"There has to be a shut-off point. What is paramount is public safety. We
have to have a limit on numbers," he added.
