Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Club will not host The Open in the immediate future after Royal Lytham & St Annes was announced as the venue for the 156th Open in 2028.
The 2026 Championship will be at Royal Birkdale and the tournament returns to St Andrews in 2027. Royal Lytham will stage The Open from August 3-6, 2028 — the first time the links has hosted since 2012 when Ernie Els won. The R&A said the move back to August in 2028 avoids a clash with the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Mark Darbon, chief executive of The R&A, described Royal Lytham as “one of the world’s finest links courses” and said its return will generate strong interest among fans. Tim Walker, chairman of council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, paid tribute to the club’s place in Championship history, noting the announcement coincides with 100 years since Bobby Jones’ 1926 victory and the club’s royal status. Lytham will also host the AIG Women’s Open from July 29 to August 2 this year.
Muirfield has also been omitted from the R&A’s immediate rota plans. The Scottish course last hosted The Open in 2013 and was once excluded because of a ban on female members; members voted to admit women in 2017, but Muirfield will not return to the rota until at least 2031, partly because the neighbouring Renaissance Club will host the Genesis Scottish Open through 2030.
Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has hosted The Open four times, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink won. However, the R&A says Turnberry is not logistically or financially viable in the foreseeable future. Its remote Ayrshire location raises challenges for road, rail and accommodation infrastructure, and the R&A has expressed concern the focus at Turnberry could shift from the championship and the course to matters relating to the US President.
In 2021 the R&A stated it had no plans to stage championships at Turnberry “in the foreseeable future” and would only reconsider if it was convinced the focus would be on the championship, players and course. Discussions continued: in 2025 Eric Trump met R&A officials and Darbon said the talks were positive, but that logistical challenges remained. Darbon said he “would love” to see The Open return to Turnberry but reiterated the need to address infrastructure issues before it could be reconsidered.
Reports in 2025 said a government spokesperson had contacted the R&A requesting Turnberry be considered for 2028, but the R&A maintains venue decisions are independent and has regularly engaged with government and local authorities about venue logistics.
The R&A has seen strong public demand for The Open: it received over one million ticket applications for the 2026 Championship at Royal Birkdale, and Royal Portrush broke records in 2025, with 278,000 patrons across four days — the highest Open attendance outside St Andrews. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour will play at Trump National Doral in Miami for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, one of the Signature Events of the 2026 season.