WILLIAMSBURG -- Few things have avoided the economic downturn, but women's professional golf at Kingsmill is doing just fine.

"I don't know if golf is recession-proof, but for this area to host the best golfers in the world, with the strength of the field -- the top 15 this year, plus Michelle Wie -- that created interest, and people took the opportunity to come out to see it," said Wayne Nooe, tournament director for the Michelob Ultra Open and vice president of sports and operations at Kingsmill Resort and Spas.

Nooe said that pretournament ticket sales were about 15 percent ahead of last year's total attendance, which was almost 60,000 for four days. Final attendance figures for the 2008 event will not be available until late this week.

Even the increasing gasoline prices did not seem to keep people away. The bulk of the fans came from Fredericksburg to the north, Richmond to the west and Virginia Beach and Norfolk to the east.

"And we get some people who come from Roanoke, North Carolina and the D.C. area," Nooe said.

"The ticket price for a golf event is not what it might be for other pro sports. Auto racing, an NFL or NBA game can be fairly expensive. For our tournament, juniors 17 and under get in free. A grounds pass is $25. For $50 a day, a family of four can see the best players in the world."

This was the sixth edition of the tournament, and at least one more will take place.

"The current contract runs through 2009," Nooe said. "We're always talking about moving forward. Hopefully, it all works out and goes past 2009."