Could the Open Championship return to Trump Turnberry in the future? R&A chief executive Mark Darbon didn’t rule out the possibility Tuesday.
Speaking at the official launch for the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, Darbon said he “would love” if the Open returned to Turnberry, where it was last contested in 2009. Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in a playoff to hoist the Claret Jug. United States President Donald Trump bought the property five years later.
Trump has made significant upgrades to the property since purchasing it, including to the Ailsa course. But the course, and Trump’s ownership, aren’t the main reason Turnberry hasn’t hosted in more than a decade.
“At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure,” Darbon said Tuesday. “We’re doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.”
Darbon mentioned just over 120K people attended the 2009 Open, whereas 278K are expected this summer at Royal Portrush.
The Ailsa course ranks seventh on Golfweek’s Best’s Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain and Ireland. It made its Open debut in 1977, the famous “Duel in the Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. The venue also hosted in 1986, 1994 and 2009.
“A modern Open Championship is a large-scale event,” Darbon said. “What we know for sure is the golf course is brilliant, so at some point we’d love to be back there. We consistently work with our venues and their owners and operators to talk about what an Open Championship demands and how we work with them to bring that to life.”
In 2021, former R&A CEO Martin Slumbers released a statement in wake of the PGA of America removing the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump Bedminster. That came on the heels of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future,” Slumbers said. “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.”
Four years and a new CEO later, the R&A seems to have opened the door on a possible return.
The next open slot for the Open is 2028. The 2026 Open is set for Royal Birkdale with 2027 returning to St. Andrews.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: R&A CEO says he would love Trump Turnberry to host British Open again
Could the Open Championship return to Trump Turnberry in the future? R&A chief executive Mark Darbon didn’t rule out the possibility Tuesday.
Speaking at the official launch for the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, Darbon said he “would love” if the Open returned to Turnberry, where it was last contested in 2009. Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in a playoff to hoist the Claret Jug. United States President Donald Trump bought the property five years later.
Trump has made significant upgrades to the property since purchasing it, including to the Ailsa course. But the course, and Trump’s ownership, aren’t the main reason Turnberry hasn’t hosted in more than a decade.
“At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure,” Darbon said Tuesday. “We’re doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.”
Darbon mentioned just over 120K people attended the 2009 Open, whereas 278K are expected this summer at Royal Portrush.
The Ailsa course ranks seventh on Golfweek’s Best’s Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain and Ireland. It made its Open debut in 1977, the famous “Duel in the Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. The venue also hosted in 1986, 1994 and 2009.
“A modern Open Championship is a large-scale event,” Darbon said. “What we know for sure is the golf course is brilliant, so at some point we’d love to be back there. We consistently work with our venues and their owners and operators to talk about what an Open Championship demands and how we work with them to bring that to life.”
In 2021, former R&A CEO Martin Slumbers released a statement in wake of the PGA of America removing the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump Bedminster. That came on the heels of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future,” Slumbers said. “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.”
Four years and a new CEO later, the R&A seems to have opened the door on a possible return.
The next open slot for the Open is 2028. The 2026 Open is set for Royal Birkdale with 2027 returning to St. Andrews.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: R&A CEO says he would love Trump Turnberry to host British Open again
