Golf Officials 'Would Love' To See Donald Trump Golf Course Host British Open Again

The Open has not been played at Trump Turnberry since 2009, but the R&A, the golf governing body that runs the major championship, appears to want to see the President's course added back to the rotation.

At the launch event for this year's Open that will be held at Royal Portrush, recently-appointed R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said he would "love" for Turnberry to host another Open in the near future.

Darbon, who took over his role with the R&A in 2024, explained that it's the logistics involved with hosting an Open at Turnberry that are the biggest holdups.

"A modern Open Championship is a large-scale event," Darbon said, according to the BBC. "What we know for sure is the golf course is brilliant, so at some point we'd love to be back there.

"We consistently work with our venues and their owners and operators to talk about what an Open Championship demands and how we work with them to bring that to life."

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It doesn't appear that Darbon tossed around the logistical line as some sort of cop-out, either, as he explained there is already work being done in looking to bring the major back to the Trump-owned property.

"At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure," he continued. "We're doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require."

President Donald Trump certainly wouldn't mind seeing The Open return to Turnberry. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Darbon noted that in 2009 there were just more than 120,000 people who attended The Open, which is a small number compared to this year's expected number of 280,000 people. This year's Open is already a sellout with 278,000 tickets sold.

While it remains to be seen if Turnberry will be added back into the rotation of courses to host the event, it's a noticeable change of tune by the R&A.

In 2021, then-chief executive Martin Slumbers made it clear that The Open would not return to Turnberry as long as Donald Trump was associated with the venue.

"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.

Darbon's new message could be a simple political tactic to keep the powers that be in the United States happy, or it's a genuine sentiment that The Open should return to one of the greatest courses in Scotland.

The last Open held at Turnberry is among the most memorable of the 21st century, with Stewart Cink defeating a then 59-year-old Tom Watson in a playoff.