UK government pushing for Open return to Trump Turnberry

Sir Keir Starmer is understood to be pushing for the Open Championship to be held at President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course. 

The Guardian reports that senior British officials have asked the R&A about the feasibility of hosting golf’s oldest major in 2028.

A move to the iconic Ayrshire venue would appease the US president, who has wanted Turnberry to stage the event since he first bought the resort back in 2014.

And officials are now continuing to explore the R&A’s stance following requests from Trump to the prime minister about hosting the Open at Turnberry.

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It would seem, meanwhile, that the ancient game’s governing body has significantly altered its own stance on a return to Turnberry for the first time since 2009.

Former chief executive Martin Slumbers made clear during his tenure that the blacklisted course would not be restored to the Open rota with Trump as its owner.

“We will not return until we are convinced 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,” Slumbers said in 2021.

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But that hardline stance has softened under new CEO Mark Darbon, who claimed last week that he would love to see the Open head to Turnberry.

Rather than declaring Trump’s ownership as problematic as he pondered a return, Darbon focused on whether the Ailsa course would be able to cope with staging an event of the Open’s magnitude.

“At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure,” he said.

“We’re doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.