Royal Lytham & St Annes will host the 156th Open Championship from August 3–6, 2028, the R&A has announced, with Royal Birkdale confirmed for 2026 and the Championship returning to St Andrews in 2027. The R&A said moving the 2028 event back to August avoids a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The announcement returns The Open to Royal Lytham for the first time since 2012, when Ernie Els claimed the Claret Jug. R&A chief executive Mark Darbon praised the venue as one of the world’s finest links courses and said its inclusion is expected to generate strong spectator interest. Tim Walker, chairman of council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, highlighted the club’s long Championship pedigree; the timing of the announcement also coincides with the centenary of Bobby Jones’ 1926 victory. Royal Lytham will host the AIG Women’s Open from July 29 to August 2 this year.
The R&A’s immediate rota omits both Turnberry and Muirfield. Muirfield, which last staged The Open in 2013 and was previously removed from the rota over a ban on female members, will not return until at least 2031. That timeline is partly driven by the nearby Renaissance Club’s agreement to host the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030.
Turnberry’s Ailsa Course, which has hosted The Open four times (most recently in 2009, won by Stewart Cink), was also ruled out for the foreseeable future. The R&A cited logistical and financial concerns tied to Turnberry’s remote Ayrshire location — notably road, rail and accommodation infrastructure — and said those issues make the venue currently unviable. The governing body also expressed worry that attention at Turnberry could be diverted from the championship, players and course by matters relating to the US President.
The R&A has repeatedly said it had no plans to stage championships at Turnberry “in the foreseeable future” unless it was satisfied the focus would be on the championship itself. Discussions have continued: in 2025 Eric Trump met R&A officials, and Darbon described the talks as positive but reiterated that significant infrastructure challenges remain. Reports that a government spokesperson contacted the R&A in 2025 requesting Turnberry be considered for 2028 were met by the R&A’s assertion that venue decisions are made independently, though the body regularly engages with government and local authorities about logistics.
Demand for The Open remains strong. The R&A received more than one million ticket applications for the 2026 Championship at Royal Birkdale, and Royal Portrush set a record in 2025 with 278,000 patrons across four days — the highest Open attendance outside St Andrews.
Separately, the PGA Tour will stage the inaugural Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami as one of the Signature Events of the 2026 season.