THE eyes of the world will fall on Wirral next week as the biggest names in golf return to Hoylake for the 151st Open championship.
Around 250,000 people are expected to visit the town for the tournament, staged at Royal Liverpool Golf Course for the 13th time from this Sunday (July 16) until Sunday, July 23.
Business owners in the town are preparing for and are it and "excited" by its return, but views are mixed.
Carley Sinclair, one of the owners of Arthur's of Hoylake on Market Street was one of those looking forward to the event.
She told the Globe: "All eyes are going to be on Hoyake - we've been prepping for quite a while and are just going to try to the best we can do to give people good service.
"We're aware that there will be a lot of people in the area.
"We have brought in staff from our other venues to support us. We've been planning this for a long time and we're excited.
"We think it's going to be great for the area. Even before The Open, a lot of new businesses have opened in Hoylake, with some great operators on Market Street.
"The Open is a great bonus for us. It's great to showcase what local businesses can offer locally. There are going to be millions of people watching on television and visitors from all over the world coming.
"We're really excited and looking forward meeting to customers from around the world.
"We're a brand new business to the area, only been here five weeks. We've been to a lot of meetings about The Open, but don't know what to expect.
"We just know it's going to be really busy and we're going to do our best to cope with that."
Clare, owner of Barbetta's bistro, hopes The Open's return will provide a "lifeline" for businesses and in the town.
She told the Globe: "We've suffered three years of restrictions and I've only been here three years, so I have had all those lockdown problems.
"Obviously, we've been hit recently with all the massive increases in energy prices and the increase in food prices and everybody knows the inflation rate's gone through the roof.
"It's been a very difficult time and this Open is offering a lot of us a lifeline.
"I hope that we can recoup some of the losses we have suffered over the last three years and carry on to better times."
Other businesses were less than happy about the intrustion and disruption the golf tournament eill bring to the area.
A member of staff from True Love Tattoo pm The Quadrant in Hoylake, which is situated near the temporary bridge that has been set to get spectators to The Open, said the business has been forced to close for a week as its siting will disturb the privacy of customers.
They explained: "There has been no communication, we didn't know this bridge was getting put up outside the premises.
"If you're going up the steps to the bridge to get to the golf, you will be able to look into the studio.
"I live above the studio and the bedroom is eye-level with the bridge.
"It's an invasion of privacy, so we're going to have to shut the business for a week, affecting four staff.
"We know it's going to be busy, we expected that, but we were not expecting a bridge to be put up outside."
A member of the public, who did not want to be named, said: "I love golf, I think it's great for the area, but I think local residents needed to be treated better by the organisers.
"I'm a landscape gardener and am going to have to close the business for about a week and a half, because it's going to be such a nightmare to get out of Hoylake during The Open.
"I work in Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales, so am going to lose hundreds of pounds in revenue while the tournament is on.
"I don't know who to contact about this, so just have to swallow it and go 'okay, it happens every so many years and so I'll have to accept it', but it's just a bit difficult.
"I'm sure it will be a similar situation for other small businesses.
"Whether the golf organisers have thought about it properly, I don't know, but I'd like to see this year's Open end with a better outcome for the town.
"Hopefully, the bars, restaurants and other businesses here do better than they did last time."
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