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 chosen to host the 156th Open in 2028. The 2024 Open will take place at Royal Birkdale, and the historic "Home of Golf" at St Andrews is slated to welcome the championship in 2027. Turnberry, which has long campaigned to re‑enter the Open rotation, remains off the schedule for the foreseeable future because a series of logistical hurdles still need to be resolved.
"The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge," explained Mark Darbon, the R&A’s chief executive, during a Sky Sports interview on Monday. He added that the scale of a modern Open demands a robust road, rail and accommodation network, and that Turnberry’s remote Ayrshire location makes it difficult to meet those requirements. "We have a good dialogue with the venue, we’re open‑minded, we’ll maintain that dialogue and see where we get," Darlon said. Muirfield, another storied Scottish club, was also left out of the R&A’s short‑term plans.
The last time Muirfield hosted the Open was in 2013, when Phil Mickelson claimed the Claret Jug by three strokes. In 2016, former R&A chief Martin Slumbers indicated that Muirfield would not be considered again until it lifted its ban on female members. Although the club voted in 2017 to admit women, it has yet to secure a place in the Open rota, despite a public appeal from Rory McIlroy in early 2023. Current projections suggest Muirfield will not return until at least 2031, especially now that the neighboring Renaissance Club has been awarded the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030.
The 2028 Open will be played from 3 to 6 August at Royal Lytham & St Annes, marking the course’s first appearance since 2012 when Ernie Els lifted the Claret Jug for the second time. Lytham’s roll of champions reads like a who’s‑who of golf history, featuring Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Lehman and David Duval. Darbon praised the venue, noting that it is "widely renowned as one of the world’s finest links courses" and that its return will generate "huge interest among fans" eager to celebrate the traditions of golf’s original championship.
Tim Walker, chairman of the council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, expressed pride in the selection: "We are honoured to be chosen as the host venue for The 156th Open in 2028. It is fitting that this announcement comes as we mark 100 years since Bobby Jones’ victory here in 1926 and the granting of our Royal status." He added that the club looks forward to welcoming the world’s top players, spectators and broadcasters to the English coast.
The R&A is moving the Open back to its traditional August slot in 2028 to avoid clashing with the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The 2025 Open, won by Scottie Scheffler at Royal Portrush, was the 153rd edition, while this year’s Open will be staged at Royal Birkdale from 16‑19 July. In addition, Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the AIG Women’s Open from 29 July to 2 August, with live coverage on Sky Sports. Trump, who purchased Turnberry in April 2014, has repeatedly lobbied for the course to re‑join the Open rotation.
He is reported to have approached Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with a request that the south‑Ayrshire venue be selected for 2028. Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has previously hosted the Open four times, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink emerged victorious. That tournament attracted roughly 120,000 spectators over four days. Despite the course’s reputation as one of the premier links venues in the British Isles, the R&A maintains that Turnberry’s remote location creates "logistical and financial difficulties" that cannot be ignored.
In 2021, the R&A publicly stated that it had reservations that a Turnberry Open would shift focus from the sport to the political profile of the U.S. President.
This comment followed the PGA of America’s decision to strip Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of its right to host the 2022 PGA Championship. An R&A press release read: "We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future. We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself, and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances." In 2025, Eric Trump met with R&A officials to discuss the venue.
While the conversation was described as "largely positive," the core issue remained the same: Turnberry’s infrastructure. Darbon said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry, but emphasized that without substantial improvements to road, rail and accommodation capacity, the R&A could not justify the move. "Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back," he told Sky Sports. The Guardian reported that a government spokesperson had also reached out to the R&A in 2025, urging the inclusion of Turnberry for 2028.
The R&A clarified that venue decisions are independent of government influence, though they do maintain regular dialogue with local and national authorities about infrastructure concerns. Ticket demand for the Open continues to surge.
Over one million applications were received for the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, and the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush set an attendance record with 278,000 patrons over four days—the highest figure for any Open outside St Andrews. Despite the setbacks for Turnberry, the PGA Tour will travel to Trump National Doral in Miami later this week for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, the fourth Signature Event of the 2026 season, with live coverage on Sky Sports Golf. Golf fans can stream the event without a contract, and the tournament promises to showcase another of Trump’s courses on a global stage.
In summary, while Turnberry remains a beloved course with a rich Open history, the combination of remote geography, limited transport links, and concerns about political distraction have kept it out of the R&A’s near‑term schedule. Royal Lytham & St Annes, with its celebrated heritage and robust infrastructure, will host the 2028 Open, continuing the tradition of rotating the championship among the United Kingdom’s most iconic links venues.