Record attendance is expected this spring when the 56th U.S. Women’s Open Championship is played at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

Pine Needles has already received a big boost with its selection as “Best in the Business” in a recent issue of Golf Business magazine. The resort’s 10th hole is featured as the magazine’s centerfold.

“We expect a sellout this year,” said Peggy Kirk Bell, a championship golfer, golf instructor and an owner of Pine Needles and Mid Pines. “USGA wants not just tickets sold. We want people,”

Bell told the Moore County Board of Commissioners during its planning retreat Saturday that the U.S. Golf Association has increased the winner’s share of the purse this year. It was $495,000 last year.

“The first one I played in, back in the ‘70s, the purse was $1,000,” Bell told the commissioners with a laugh.

She quoted a USGA spokesman as saying, “We need to make a statement that women’s golf is here to stay.”

Bell said Pine Needles has many things going for it this year, including the 60 acres available for parking. The Pine Needles course is easily accessible to visitors, making it even more appealing.

The Open will be played May 28-June 3.

“It’s certainly shaping up for us to be a record championship,” said Pine Needles Chief Operating Officer Kelly Miller, resort manager.

Miller said that Pine Needles, which hosted the Women’s Open five years ago, now has the advantage of experience. He praised the quality and the large number of volunteers available to help make a major tournament run efficiently.

In 1996, there were 2,000 volunteers, he reported. That number is likely to climb to 3,000 this year.

The Women’s Open is good for business, Miller said. In 1996, total corporate sales amounted to $1.1 million. He predicted sales of $2.4 million this year.

Ticket sales are already far ahead of the 120,000 sold at the Women’s Open last year. When the Open was played at Pine Needles in 1996, ticket sales were 108,000.

“We would like 150,000 tickets sold. That would eclipse previous records,” Miller said.

Miller also expressed confidence that the course will be “in superb shape” by tournament time.

In 1996, the Women’s Open raised more than $400,000 for breast cancer awareness, the principal charity supported that year. Interest generated by that effort has since resulted in raising more than $750,000 to combat this disease, Miller reported.

“We raised awareness about breast cancer and, hopefully, saved some lives,” Miller said.

In addition to a major charity, tournament profits will also be directed to other nonprofit organizations in the Moore County community, including FirstHealth.

Miller said that most of this money would remain in Moore County and North Carolina. He explained that the profits should be even higher than those at an average tournament, because volunteers provide essential services, which keeps the overhead lower.

Miller said the resort’s business grew after the 1996 tournament.

“An Open gives you a tremendous credibility,” he said. “People generally think it must be good if those folks go there. It’s been terrific for us, and it’s been terrific for the area. It fills up hotel rooms. The real benefit is after the fact, because of the exposure from TV and newspapers. We think it’s a driving force.

“We’re very confident, very bullish. This area is still poised for good growth.”

Caleb Miles, executive director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau, introduced the program by pointing out that Moore County may be bucking the trend with new development.

“This is not durable goods,” Miles said. “We’re in the service industry, and people are no longer cutting back on recreation and leisure. We’re optimistic about the new year and about the Women’s Open.”

In 1999, when the U.S. Open Championship was held in Pinehurst, tourism revenues amounted to $260 million, Miles said. In 2001, he expects that figure to climb to $280 million, perhaps to $290 million. And there should be a resulting climb in retail sales.