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 edition of the tournament will be staged at Royal Birkdale, and the iconic "Home of Golf" at St Andrews is slated to welcome the championship in 2027. Turnberry, which has long campaigned to re‑enter the Open rotation, remains on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
The R&A’s chief executive, Mark Darbon, told Sky Sports that the principal obstacle is logistics. He explained that a modern Open demands a massive infrastructure – extensive road and rail links, ample accommodation, and the capacity to handle tens of thousands of spectators – and Turnberry’s remote position on the Ayrshire coast makes it difficult to meet those requirements without substantial investment. "The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge," Darbon said. "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.
We have a good dialogue with the venue, we’re open‑minded, we’ll maintain that dialogue and see where we get." Muirfield, another historic Scottish club, has also been left out of the R&A’s short‑term plans. The course last hosted the Open in 2013, when Phil Mickelson claimed the Claret Jug. Former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers noted back in 2016 that Muirfield would not be considered until it lifted its ban on female members. Although the club voted in 2017 to admit women, it has yet to regain a slot in the Open rota, despite a public appeal from Rory McIlroy in early 2024.
The nearest opportunity for Muirfield appears to be 2031, after the neighboring Renaissance Club secures the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030. The 2028 Open will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes for the first time since 2012, when Ernie Els captured his second Claret Jug on those links.
Over the decades, Lytham has hosted a pantheon of champions – Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Lehman and David Duval, to name a few. 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 has moved the 2028 Open back to its traditional August slot to avoid a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The 2025 Open, won by Scottie Scheffler at Royal Portrush, was the 153rd edition and gave Scheffler his fourth major title.
This year’s Open will be contested at Royal Birkdale from July 16‑19, while Lytham will also stage the AIG Women’s Open from July 29 to August 2. President Trump has long expressed a desire to see Turnberry re‑enter the Open schedule. He purchased the resort in April 2014 and has reportedly lobbied Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to secure a future Open slot. Turnberry’s Ailsa Course previously hosted the championship four times, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink triumphed.
That event attracted roughly 120,000 spectators over four days, underscoring the venue’s capacity to draw crowds despite its remote location. Nevertheless, the R&A’s 2021 assessment warned that a Turnberry Open could become more about the political profile of the U.S. President than about the golf itself. The statement followed the PGA of America’s decision to strip Trump National Golf Club Bedminster of its right to host the 2022 PGA Championship.
An R&A spokesperson later reiterated, "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 positive, logistical and financial concerns persisted. Darbon said he would "love" to see the Open return to Turnberry, but emphasized that the current infrastructure – roads, rail links and accommodation – would need a major overhaul before the R&A could consider the site viable again.
"Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back," he told Sky Sports. The Guardian reported that a senior government spokesperson also approached the R&A in 2025, urging the body to consider Turnberry for the 2028 Open. The R&A made clear that venue decisions remain independent of government influence, noting that they regularly consult with local and national authorities but retain final authority based on logistical feasibility.
Ticket demand for upcoming Opens remains robust. Over one million applications were received for the 2026 Open at Royal Birkdale, and the 2025 tournament at Royal Portrush set an attendance record of 278,000 spectators – the highest figure for any Open held outside St Andrews.
Despite Turnberry’s exclusion from the Open rota, 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 watch all four rounds of the Cadillac Championship from Thursday at 4 pm on Sky Sports Golf, or stream the action without a contract. In summary, while Donald Trump’s Turnberry remains a world‑class links course, the R&A’s current logistical and financial assessment keeps it out of the Open schedule for now. Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 2028 Open, marking a return to a historic venue steeped in championship lore, and the broader major‑golf calendar continues to evolve with strong fan interest and high ticket demand across the United Kingdom and Ireland.