Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club will not be the venue for the next Open Championship, as the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club has been selected to host the 156th Open in 2028. The 2024 edition of the tournament will be staged at Royal Birkdale, and the historic links at St Andrews are slated to welcome the championship in 2027.
While Turnberry has long campaigned for a place on the Open rota, the R&A has indicated that a number of logistical and financial hurdles must be resolved before the Scottish resort can be considered again. The R&A's chief executive, Mark Darbon, explained to Sky Sports that Turnberry presents a "logistical challenge" for a modern major. He noted that the scale of a contemporary Open demands robust road, rail and accommodation networks, and that the current infrastructure around Turnberry would struggle to meet those expectations.
"We have a good dialogue with the venue and we remain open‑minded," Darbor said, adding that the conversation will continue as the governing body assesses possible solutions. Muirfield, another storied Scottish club, also remains absent from the R&A's near‑term plans. The course last hosted the Open in 2013, when Phil Mickelson captured the Claret Jug.
Former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers had previously warned that Muirfield could not be reinstated until it lifted its ban on female members. Although the club voted in 2017 to admit women, it still has not been re‑added to the Open rotation, despite a public appeal from Rory McIlroy earlier this year. The next realistic opportunity for Muirfield appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club has secured the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030.
Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 2028 Open from August 3‑6, marking its first appearance since 2012, when Ernie Els won his second Claret Jug on the links. The venue boasts a distinguished roll of champions that includes Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Lehman and David Duval. Darbon praised the course as "one of the world’s finest links" and highlighted its historic significance, noting that Bobby Jones first triumphed there in 1926. He added that the return to Lytham will generate massive interest among fans eager to experience the tradition and pageantry of golf’s original championship.
Tim Walker, chairman of the council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, expressed pride in being chosen for the 156th Open. He referenced the club’s centenary celebration of Bobby Jones’s 1926 victory and the granting of its Royal status, and he looked forward to welcoming the sport’s elite players and a global audience to England’s coastal links. The decision to move the Open back to August in 2028 is intended to avoid a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games later that summer. In 2025, Scottie Scheffler won the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, securing his fourth major title.
This year’s Open will be contested at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while Lytham will also stage the AIG Women’s Open from July 29‑August 2, both events televised on Sky Sports. President Donald Trump, who purchased Turnberry in April 2014, has long hoped the resort would re‑enter the Open schedule. He has reportedly appealed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to have the venue selected for 2028.
Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has hosted the Open four times, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink claimed victory. That tournament attracted roughly 120,000 spectators over four days. Despite the course’s pedigree, the R&A maintains that Turnberry’s remote location on the Ayrshire coast would create significant logistical and financial burdens, potentially shifting focus away from the competition itself.
In 2021, the R&A publicly stated that it had reservations about Turnberry, fearing that the presence of a sitting U.S. president might dominate media coverage. The comment came shortly after the PGA of America withdrew Trump National Golf Club Bedminster’s right to host the 2022 PGA Championship.
An official R&A release affirmed that there were no plans to stage any of its championships at Turnberry in the foreseeable future, emphasizing that the organization would only return once it was convinced the event could centre on the players, the course and the sport. In 2025, Eric Trump met with R&A officials to discuss the venue.
While the dialogue was described as constructive, the core issue of logistics remained unresolved. Darbon said he would love to see the Open return to Turnberry but reiterated that the current infrastructure—particularly road, rail and accommodation capacity—does not meet the standards required for a major championship. He noted that after meeting with Eric Trump and Turnberry’s leadership, the R&A had a clearer understanding of each side’s position, yet the challenges persisted. The Guardian reported that a government spokesperson also approached the R&A in 2025, urging the body to consider Turnberry for the 2028 Open.
The R&A clarified that its venue decisions are independent of any political influence, although it does maintain regular communication with national and local authorities regarding venue logistics. Ticket demand for upcoming Opens remains extraordinary. Over one million applications were received for the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, and the 2025 event at Royal Portrush set a record with 278,000 attendees across four days—the highest attendance for an Open outside St Andrews.
Despite Turnberry’s exclusion from the Open rota, the PGA Tour will travel to Trump National Doral in Miami for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, the fourth Signature Event of the 2026 season, with live coverage on Sky Sports. Golf fans can watch all four rounds of the Cadillac Championship from Thursday at 4 pm on Sky Sports Golf, or stream the action without a contract. In summary, while Turnberry remains a world‑class links course, the R&A’s current assessment prioritizes venues that can reliably support the massive logistical demands of a modern Open Championship.
Royal Lytham & St Annes, with its storied history and proven infrastructure, will host the 2028 edition, ensuring that the tournament continues to celebrate the heritage and excitement of golf’s most prestigious major.