R&A discussed holding British Open at Turnberry with Eric Trump

PORTRUSH – R&A chief executive officer Mark Darbon confirmed on July 16 he recently had a “really good discussion” with Eric Trump about hosting a future British Open at Turnberry, owned by United States President Donald Trump.

The course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, owned by Trump’s organisation since 2014, has hosted the Major four times but not since 2009.

“It’s a somewhat hypothetical question in that unless we address the logistical challenges, it’s difficult for us to go back,” Darbon told reporters at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, site of the 153rd Open, which teed off on July 17.

He said he met the American leader’s son, Eric, and representatives from Turnberry “a couple of months ago”.

Logistical issues include the fact that only 120,000 spectators attended the last Open at Turnberry, compared to the 280,000 expected this week and the 250,000 at Royal Troon in Scotland in 2024.

“We had a really good discussion,” Darbon said. “I think they understand clearly where we’re coming from.

“We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we’ve got a good dialogue with them.”

Meeting a member of the Trump family continues the thaw in what had become a testy relationship between the R&A and the current occupant of the White House.

After Mr Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021, then R&A boss Martin Slumbers said there were no plans to restore Turnberry to the Open rotation “in the foreseeable future”.

“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,” Slumbers said at the time.

That stance has softened since Mr Trump’s election to a second term. Darbon, who replaced Slumbers in July 2024, said in April that he “would love” to see the tournament return to Turnberry.

“We love the golf course but we’ve got some big logistical challenges there,” he said on July 16. “We’ve got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry.

“We’ve explicitly not taken it out of our pool of venues, but we’d need to address those logistical challenges should we return.”

Darbon also said the R&A has had an ongoing dialogue with the British government about staging a Major at a Trump-owned property.

“We’ve spoken to them specifically about Turnberry and I think they’ve made it clear that the decision around where we take our championship rests with us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oakmont Country Club has banned 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark from the property after the American caused damage in the locker room at June’s US Open there.

A letter from club president John Lynch to members this week that revealed the punishment was obtained by Golf Digest, ESPN and Golf Channel.

The 31-year-old damaged his locker after missing the cut at the US Open, later apologising for the incident, the results of which were shown in photos on social media. REUTERS