R&A makes fresh Open decision on Turnberry

The R&A has reiterated that the Open will not return to Trump Turnberry in the near future.

Reports suggested earlier this week that US President Donald Trump, who owns the Ayrshire resort, was hopeful the UK government could help bring the claret jug back to his famed venue.

But, speaking to the Telegraph’s James Corrigan, new R&A chief Mark Darbon said the governing body won’t be swayed.

“At the core of our decision making will be the factors that have served us well in the past and we hope will continue to serve us well into the future,” he said.

In November, outgoing R&A boss Martin Slumbers told the Golf Channel that while Turnberry hasn’t been removed from the Open rota, it’s not currently in the organisations plans.

And that would be the case for as long as politics overlooked the event.

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“We’ve never taken Turnberry off the rota,” he said, “so, we talk of ten courses that stage The Open Championship and that we look to use for other events.

“The position at the moment, in respect of Turnberry, is that we will not be taking events there until we’re comfortable that the whole dialogue will be about golf.

“That is a situation we’re still not comfortable with, but that could evolve in the coming years.”

Now, though, Darbon has warned Trump that his resort’s relatively low is another stumbling block in the championship’s return.

Turnberry last staged the Open in 2009. It was the fourth time staging the event and 32 years after the iconic ‘Duel in the Sun’ was won by American Tom Watson.

A total of 123,000 spectators attended the Open at Turnberry in 2009, the lowest overall figure in the last 15 years.

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“We need a venue that is appropriate from both a logistical and commercial perspective,” Darbon said.

“That’s critical for us, because through the Open, we generate most of our revenue and we use that to invest in the rest of the game all around the world. So, the reality is that a modern-day Open requires a venue that can support us logistically and commercially.

“We do have some questions that we need to work through on the logistical and commercial front.

“When we were there in 2009, we had just over 100,000 for the week. We are operating at comfortably more than double that at most of our venues today.

“So it’s not quite as simple as just saying ‘would we go back?’ There’s a chunk of work that’s required to investigate.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.