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 edition of the championship will be staged at Royal Birkdale, and the historic links at St Andrews are set to welcome the tournament again in 2027. Turnberry, which has been campaigning for a place on the Open rota for many years, remains off the schedule because a number of logistical and financial hurdles have yet to be resolved.
Current R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon explained to Sky Sports that the "challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge". He noted that a modern Open requires a massive infrastructure of roads, rail links and accommodation, and that Turnberry's remote position on the Ayrshire coast makes it difficult to meet those demands. "We have a good dialogue with the venue, we are open‑minded and will keep the conversation going," Darbon added, emphasizing that any future inclusion would depend on concrete improvements to transport and hospitality capacity.
Muirfield, another storied Scottish club, was also left out of the R&A's immediate 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 in 2016 that Muirfield would not be considered until it lifted its ban on female members. Although the club voted to admit women in 2017, it still has not been reinstated on the Open rotation, despite a high‑profile appeal from Rory McIlroy in early 2024.
The next realistic window for Muirfield appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club is scheduled to host the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030. Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 2028 Open from August 3‑6, marking its return to the championship for the first time since 2012, when Ernie Els won his second Claret Jug there.
The venue has 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 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 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 Lytham & St Annes will also stage the AIG Women's Open from July 29 to August 2, both events televised on Sky Sports. President Donald Trump has long expressed a desire to see Turnberry re‑enter the Open rotation. He purchased 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 triumphed in 2009, drawing roughly 120,000 spectators across the four rounds. Despite its reputation as a premier links course, the R&A concluded that the remote location would create "logistical and financial difficulties" that could distract from the competition itself. In a 2021 statement, the R&A said it had reservations that a Turnberry Open would focus more on the political profile of the U.S.
President than on the sport. That 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 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 dialogue was described as "really good," the core issue—insufficient infrastructure—remained. Darbon later said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry, but reiterated that without major upgrades to roads, rail and accommodation, a comeback was unlikely. He added, "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 had also urged the R&A to consider Turnberry for 2028, but the governing body stressed its independence from political pressure. "We regularly engage with government and local government regarding venues," an R&A spokesperson told Sky Sports in 2025. "We have explained the logistical challenges around Turnberry to the government, and they are aware of the position." Ticket demand for the Open continues to surge.
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 turnout for any Open outside St Andrews. Despite the setbacks at Turnberry, the PGA Tour is moving ahead with other Trump‑owned venues.
This week the tour will travel to Trump National Doral in Miami for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, the fourth Signature Event of the 2026 season, broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf. In summary, while Turnberry remains a dream venue for many supporters and for the former president, the R&A's current priority is ensuring that each Open delivers a world‑class experience for players, fans and sponsors.
Until the logistical hurdles are overcome, Royal Lytham & St Annes will take centre stage in 2028, continuing the tradition of historic links courses hosting golf's oldest major.