Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club will not be the venue for the upcoming 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 "Home of Golf" at St Andrews is slated to welcome the championship in 2027. Turnberry, which has campaigned for years to rejoin the Open rotation, remains off the schedule for the foreseeable future because a number of logistical hurdles still need to be resolved.
"The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge," explained Mark Darbon, the current chief executive of the R&A, in an interview with Sky Sports. He added that the scale of a modern Open demands a robust road, rail and accommodation network, and that Turnberry's remote position on the Ayrshire coast makes it difficult to meet those requirements. The R&A maintains an open dialogue with the Turnberry management and hopes that continued discussions may eventually lead to a solution, but for now the club is not in the immediate rotation.
Similar constraints have kept Muirfield out of the short‑term plan as well. The Scottish venue last hosted the Open in 2013, when Phil Mickelson captured the Claret Jug by three strokes.
Former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers noted in 2016 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 still has not secured a place in the rota, even after Rory McIlroy publicly urged the governing body to reinstate it. The next realistic opportunity for Muirfield is projected to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club completes its tenure as host of the Genesis Scottish Open in 2030.
Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 2028 Open from August 3‑6, marking its first return since 2012, when Ernie Els won his second Claret Jug on the links. The course boasts a distinguished roll of champions that includes 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 venue, 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 was first played there in 1926 when the legendary Bobby Jones won.
This is one of golf's most cherished and historic venues and the Open's return to these famous links will spark huge interest among fans to be part of one of the world's great sporting events and celebrate the rich traditions of golf's original Championship." Tim Walker, chairman of the council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, 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 and audiences from across the globe, to our links on England's golf coast." The R&A is moving the Open back to its traditional August slot in 2028 to avoid a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The 2025 Open was won by Scottie Scheffler at Royal Portrush, giving him his fourth major and first Claret Jug. This year's Open will be contested at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while Royal Lytham & St Annes will also stage the AIG Women's Open from July 29‑August 2, broadcast live on Sky Sports. President Donald Trump has long hoped that Turnberry could re‑enter the Open rotation.
He purchased the resort in April 2014 and has reportedly appealed to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to have the south‑Ayrshire venue selected. Turnberry's Ailsa Course last hosted the Open in 2009, when Stewart Cink emerged victorious; roughly 120,000 spectators attended across the four rounds. Despite its reputation as a premier course in the British Isles, the R&A believes the remote location would create significant logistical and financial burdens, potentially diverting attention from the players and the competition itself.
In 2021, the R&A voiced concerns that a Turnberry Open would become a platform for political discussion rather than a showcase of golf. This statement followed the PGA of America’s decision to withdraw Trump National Golf Club Bedminster's right to host the 2022 PGA Championship.
An official R&A release said, "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 of logistics remained. Darbon said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry, but reiterated that the course is not currently viable from a road, rail and accommodation perspective. He noted, "Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back. I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organisation from Turnberry.
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." 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 venue decisions are independent of political influence, although they regularly liaise with national and local 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, while the 2025 event at Royal Portrush set an attendance record of 278,000 spectators across four days – the highest figure for any Open held outside St Andrews. Despite the ongoing stalemate over Turnberry, the PGA Tour will head 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.
In summary, while Donald Trump's Turnberry remains a coveted but currently unattainable venue for the Open Championship, Royal Lytham & St Annes has secured the 2028 slot, promising a return to a storied links course steeped in golf history. The R&A continues to balance tradition, logistical feasibility, and the desire to keep the focus squarely on the sport and its competitors.