THE West Wirral economy will get a multi-million pound boost with the return of the Open Championship to Royal Liverpool in July.

Such is the international appeal of the championship that golfers from across the globe and closer to home will spend around £8m during the week-long tournament.

Media representatives are also expected to make a major contribution.

Further information from a survey ordered by golf’s ruling body the R&A indicates that the Open is overall worth £72m and creates the equivalent of 960 full-time jobs when held in Scotland.

Some of that benefit could also be felt in Wirral.

Worldwide TV and media exposure is worth £40m in advertising and promotion and research revealed that 82% of spectators attending the championship come from the socio-economic group with an average household income of £56,000.

On a gastronomic level figures show that at the 2006 Hoylake Open 400,000 pints of beer were served; 250,000 cups of tea were drunk and 98,000 portions of fish and chips were eaten.

Further to that 23,000 seats were set out, along with 5,000 yellow cones. Around 5,000 plastic bags were filled with rubbish and 42 volunteers connected with the Liverpool Capital of Culture venture worked 12-hour shifts to keep the course in good order.

Organisers will be hoping that this year’s Open will attract the same numbers of spectators who enjoyed gloriously sunny weather in 2006.

The 230,000 who came to Hoylake that week still stands as a record attendance for England.

Nearly 60,000 people came on the train during the week and 11,200 cars used the park and ride car parks on just one day.

Hoylake was the first golfing venue to offer a dedicated cycle park for spectators.