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 confirmed as the host for the 156th Open in 2028. The 2024 Open will be staged at Royal Birkdale, and the tournament will move back to the historic links at St Andrews in 2027, but Turnberry’s bid to re‑enter the rotation remains on hold due to a range of logistical and financial concerns. Turnberry, which Donald Trump purchased in April 2014, has long campaigned for a return to the Open schedule. The Ailsa Course last hosted the championship in 2009, when Stewart Cink lifted the Claret Jug.
At that time, roughly 120,000 spectators attended across the four rounds, underscoring the venue’s capacity to attract a massive crowd. However, the R&A’s chief executive, Mark Darbon, told Sky Sports that the remote location on the Ayrshire coast creates "a logistical challenge" that the organisation is not prepared to overcome at present.
"You see the scale of a modern Open championship – the road, rail and accommodation network around that venue is challenging to deliver what we now deliver," Darbon explained. He added that while the R&A maintains an open dialogue with Turnberry’s management, the current infrastructure does not meet the standards required for a major event of this magnitude. "Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back," he said, noting that discussions with Eric Trump earlier in the year were constructive but left the core issues unresolved. The decision to award the 2028 Open to Royal Lytham & St Annes also means that other historic courses, such as Muirfield, remain outside the immediate rotation.
Muirfield last hosted the Open in 2013, when Phil Mickelson won by three strokes. The club’s exclusion dates back to a 2016 statement by former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers, who said the venue would not be considered until it lifted its ban on female members. Although Muirfield members voted in 2017 to admit women, the course still has not secured a place in the Open schedule, even after Rory McIlroy publicly urged the R&A to reconsider.
The nearest opportunity for Muirfield appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club has been confirmed as the host of the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030. Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the Open for the first time since 2012, when Ernie Els claimed his second Claret Jug on the links. The course 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 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." He emphasized that the return to these historic links will generate massive interest among fans eager to celebrate golf's deep‑rooted traditions.
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 also announced that the 2028 Open will revert to its traditional August slot to avoid clashing with the Los Angeles Olympic Games later that summer.
This scheduling adjustment aligns the Open with its historic calendar and ensures that the tournament retains its status as the final major of the golf season. In the meantime, other major events continue to shape the global golf landscape.
Scottie Scheffler captured the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in 2025, securing his fourth major title and first Claret Jug. The 2024 Open will be contested at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while the AIG Women’s Open will follow at Royal Lytham & St Annes from July 29 to August 2, both broadcast live on Sky Sports. Trump’s aspirations for Turnberry remain evident.
Reports indicate that Trump made direct appeals to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to have the south‑Ayrshire venue selected for the 2028 Open. Nevertheless, the R&A’s 2021 statement warned that the focus of an Open at Turnberry might shift from the sport to the political profile of its owner, a concern that resurfaced after the PGA of America stripped Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of its right to host the 2022 PGA Championship. An R&A spokesperson reiterated in 2025 that any decision about hosting the Open is independent of government influence, though they do engage regularly with local and national authorities about venue logistics.
"We have explained the logistical challenges around Turnberry to the government, and they are aware of the position," the spokesperson told Sky Sports. Ticket demand for upcoming Opens 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 across four days – the highest figure for any Open held outside St Andrews. Despite the setbacks at Turnberry, the PGA Tour will soon head 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.
This event underscores the continued commercial partnership between the Trump golf brand and major tours, even as the Open remains out of reach for Turnberry. In summary, while Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Club will not host the 2028 Open, the championship’s return to Royal Lytham & St Annes promises a celebration of golf heritage, world‑class competition, and the enduring allure of links golf.
The R&A’s emphasis on logistical feasibility, infrastructure readiness, and preserving the integrity of the tournament suggests that Turnberry’s re‑entry into the Open rotation will require substantial investment and strategic planning, a challenge that may take several years to resolve.