Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club will not be hosting The Open Championship in the near term after the R&A announced that Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club will stage the 156th Open in 2028. The 2024 edition of the major will be held at Royal Birkdale, and the tournament will travel back to its historic home at St Andrews in 2027.
Turnberry, which has campaigned for years to re‑enter the Open rotation, remains off the schedule until the logistical hurdles that surround the remote Ayrshire venue are resolved. "The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge," said Mark Darbon, the R&A's chief executive, in an interview with Sky Sports on Monday. He explained that the scale of a modern Open demands a robust road, rail and accommodation network, and that Turnberry's current infrastructure falls short of those expectations. "We have a good dialogue with the venue, we are open‑minded, and we will maintain that conversation to see where it leads," Darbon added.
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 claimed the Claret Jug by three strokes. Former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers had previously warned 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 has yet to regain a spot in the rotation, despite a public appeal from Rory McIlroy in early 2024. The next realistic opportunity for Muirfield appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club secures the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030. Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 2028 Open from August 3‑6, marking its first turn at the championship since 2012, when Ernie Els lifted the Claret Jug for the second time.
Lytham’s illustrious roll of champions 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 at Royal Portrush was won by Scottie Scheffler, who captured his fourth major and first Claret Jug. This year’s Open will run at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while Lytham will also stage the AIG Women’s Open from July 29‑August 2, broadcast live on Sky Sports. Trump, who purchased Turnberry in April 2014, has long lobbied for the course to re‑join the Open rota.
He 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 the four‑day event. Despite its reputation as a premier links venue, the R&A cited concerns about the remote location, transportation bottlenecks and the potential for the tournament to become a political spectacle rather than a pure sporting contest. In a 2021 statement, the R&A explained that it feared the focus would shift from the course and the players to the involvement of a sitting U.S.
President. The same year, the PGA of America withdrew Trump National Golf Club Bedminster’s right to host the 2022 PGA Championship, underscoring the sensitivity around political ties. 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 constructive, the core issue—logistical viability—remained unresolved. Darbon said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry, but reiterated that without significant improvements to road, rail and accommodation infrastructure, a comeback is unlikely. "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 also approached the R&A in 2025, urging consideration of Turnberry for the 2028 Open.
The R&A clarified that venue decisions are independent of political influence, though they do maintain regular communication with national and local authorities about infrastructure concerns. Ticket demand for upcoming Opens 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 attendance outside of 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.
In summary, while Donald Trump’s Turnberry remains sidelined due to logistical and financial concerns, Royal Lytham & St Annes is set to host the 2028 Open, promising a return to classic links golf and a celebration of the tournament’s storied heritage. The R&A’s focus remains on ensuring that any future Open venue can support the massive scale of the event while keeping the spotlight firmly on the sport itself.