Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club will not be the host of the Open Championship in the near term after the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was announced as the venue for the 156th Open in 2028. The 2024 Open will be staged at Royal Birkdale, and the tournament will travel back to its historic home at St Andrews in 2027. Turnberry, which has long campaigned for a place on the Open rotation, remains sidelined because a series of logistical and financial hurdles have yet to be resolved. Current R&A chief executive Mark Darbon explained to Sky Sports that the scale of a modern Open – from road and rail links to accommodation capacity – presents a "logistical challenge" for the remote Ayrshire resort.
"We have an open‑minded dialogue with the venue and will keep the conversation going," he said, adding that the R&A is not ready to commit until those issues are addressed. Muirfield, another storied Scottish club, also finds itself outside the R&A's immediate plans. The last time Muirfield hosted the Open was in 2013, when Phil Mickelson captured the Claret Jug.
Former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers noted in 2016 that the club would not be considered again until it lifted its ban on female members. Although the club voted in 2017 to admit women, it still has not re‑entered the Open rota, even after Rory McIlroy urged the governing body to reinstate it. The nearest opportunity appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club secures the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030. The 2028 Open, scheduled for August 3‑6, marks Royal Lytham & St Annes's return after a 16‑year hiatus; the last Open there was in 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 legends such as Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Lehman and David Duval. Darbon praised the course, saying, "Royal Lytham & St Annes is widely renowned as one of the world’s finest links courses and has witnessed many great championship moments since the Open first arrived in 1926. This is one of golf’s most cherished and historic venues, and its return will spark huge interest among fans and celebrate the rich traditions of the original Championship." Tim Walker, chairman of the council at Royal Lytham, echoed that sentiment: "We are honoured to be chosen as the host venue for the 156th Open in 2028. The club has a long and successful association with the Open, and we take great pride in our place within the Championship's history.
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. We look forward to welcoming the world’s leading players, together with spectators from across the globe, to our links on England’s golf coast." The R&A is moving the Open back to August in 2028 to avoid a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The 2025 Open at Royal Portrush was won by Scottie Scheffler, giving him his fourth major and first Claret Jug. This year’s Open will be contested at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while Lytham will also host the AIG Women’s Open from July 29‑August 2. President Donald Trump has long hoped Turnberry could re‑join the Open rota.
He bought the resort in April 2014 and reportedly appealed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the venue to be selected. Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has hosted the Open four times, most recently when Stewart Cink won in 2009; about 120,000 spectators attended across the four rounds.
Despite its reputation as a premier links course, the R&A believes the remote location would strain transport and lodging infrastructure and risk shifting focus away from the competition itself. In 2021 the R&A voiced concerns that a Turnberry Open would become a media circus centered on the U.S. president rather than the sport. That statement followed the PGA of America’s decision to strip Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of the right to host the 2022 PGA Championship.
An official R&A 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 talks were described as constructive, the core issue—logistical viability—remained unresolved. Darbon said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry but reiterated that without substantial improvements to road, rail and accommodation capacity, the R&A could not justify the move.
"We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we are coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we have a good dialogue with them," he told Sky Sports. The Guardian reported that a government spokesperson also reached out to the R&A in 2025, urging Turnberry to be considered for 2028.
The R&A clarified that venue decisions are independent of political influence, although they do maintain regular contact with national and local authorities about infrastructure concerns. Ticket demand for upcoming Opens remains massive. 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 spectators across four days—the highest attendance for an Open outside St Andrews. Despite Turnberry’s current exclusion, 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, broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Golf fans can follow all four rounds of the Cadillac Championship from Thursday at 4 pm on Sky Sports Golf, or stream the coverage without a contract. In summary, while Trump’s Turnberry remains on the periphery of the Open rotation due to logistical and financial concerns, Royal Lytham & St Annes has secured the 2028 slot, promising a return to a classic links venue steeped in history. The R&A continues to balance tradition with practical realities, ensuring that future Opens deliver the sport’s highest standards while navigating the complex infrastructure demands of modern major championships.