The Open: Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club misses out on selection as Royal Lytham is named as 2028 venue

Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club will not host The Open Championship in the immediate future after Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was named as host of The 156th Open in 2028.

This year's Open Championship will be hosted at Royal Birkdale, while the tournament will return to the 'Home of Golf' at St Andrews in 2027.

However, Trump's Turnberry Golf Club, which has been seeking a spot on The Open rotation for many years, will not host The Open in the foreseeable future and until multiple logistical issues can be addressed.

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"The challenge at Turnberry is a logistical challenge," current R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon told Sky Sports on Monday.

"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've got a good dialogue with the venue, we're open-minded, we'll maintain that dialogue and see where we get."

Muirfield has also been omitted from the R&A's immediate plans. The Scottish golf club last hosted The Open back in 2013, when Phil Mickelson won by three shots to claim the Claret Jug.

While it is widely regarded as one of the top 100 golf courses in the world, former R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said in 2016 that Muirfield would not host The Open until the course lifted its ban on female members.

"If the policy at the club should change, we would reconsider Muirfield as a venue in future," he said.

A year later, members at Muirfield voted to allow female golfers to apply for membership, but it has still not been granted a spot in The Open rotation, even after Rory McIlroy urged the R&A to add it back to the rota in January.

A return to Muirfield will not happen until at least 2031, after it was revealed that its neighbour, the Renaissance Club, would host the Genesis Scottish Open until 2030.

The Open returns to Royal Lytham

The Open, which will be played from August 3 to August 6 in 2028, returns to Royal Lytham for the first time since 2012 when Ernie Els lifted the famous Claret Jug for a second time.

The South African joined an illustrious roll of champions at Royal Lytham & St Annes, including Bobby Jones, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Sir Bob Charles, Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Lehman and David Duval.

Darbon said: "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 council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, said: "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 Championship back to August in 2028 to ensure its schedule does not clash with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Scottie Scheffler won The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush in 2025 to secure his fourth major title and first Claret Jug. This year's Open will be staged at Royal Birkdale from July 16-19.

Lytham and St Annes will also host this year's AIG Women's Open from July 29 to August 2, live on Sky Sports.

Trump, Turnberry and the R&A

The US President has long hoped that Turnberry could one day return to The Open rotation.

Mr Trump, who bought the resort in April 2014, reportedly made requests to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the south Ayrshire venue to be selected to stage the championship.

Turnberry's Ailsa Course has hosted The Open four times, with Stewart Cink's triumph in 2009 being the last time the major was staged at the Scottish course. Approximately 120,000 spectators passed through the gates during all four rounds of the tournament.

While it is one of the best golf courses in the British Isles, the R&A believes the course would pose logistical and financial difficulties due to its remote location on the Ayrshire coast.

The R&A addressed the matter in 2021, explaining it had reservations that the focus of an Open Championship at Turnberry would not be on the golf course but rather on matters relating to the US President.

That statement came shortly after the PGA of America withdrew Trump National Golf Club Bedminster's right to stage the 2022 PGA Championship.

"We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future," an R&A statement read. "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, Trump's son, Eric, met with R&A officials to speak more on the venue. The talks were largely positive, but a sticking point remained.

Darbon said that he "would love" to see the event return to Turnberry, but added that the golf course was not logistically and financially viable.

"Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back. I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organisation from Turnberry," Darbon said at the time.

"We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we are coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we have a good dialogue with them."

The Guardian reported in 2025 that a spokesperson from the Prime Minister's government had also contacted the R&A to request that Turnberry host The Open in 2028. However, any decision to host the final major of the golf season was independent of the government.

"We regularly engage with government and local government regarding venues," an R&A spokesperson told Sky Sports in 2025.

"We have explained the logistical challenges around Turnberry to the government, and they are aware of the position."

The R&A received over one million applications for tickets to the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, with last year's event at Royal Portrush breaking records, with 278,000 patrons entering the grounds during all four tournament days - the highest attendance for The Open outside of St Andrews.

"I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry," Darbon said. "We love the golf course but we've got some big logistical challenges there. You see the scale of their set-up here and we've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure."

Despite that, the PGA Tour will this week head to Trump National Doral in Miami for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, the fourth Signature Event of the 2026 season, live on Sky Sports.

Watch all four rounds of The Cadillac Championship at Donald Trump's Miami golf course, with live coverage commencing on Thursday from 4pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: The Open: Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club misses out on selection as Royal Lytham is named as 2028 venue