Turnberry Won’t Host Open Championship While Owned By Donald Trump, R&A Says

Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland will not play host to The Open Championship as long as he is still the owner, the tournament’s governing body said, per Tom Morgan, James Corrigan and Jamie Johnson of the Telegraph.

The R&A said Trump’s affiliation with Turnberry golf resort “is still perceived as a serious security risk due to potential protests,” the Telegraph wrote, hence why it will not be considered for the tournament under his ownership.

The Turnberry golf course has hosted The Open Championship four times, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink defeated Tom Watson in a four-hole playoff to capture his only major championship.

The Trump organization purchased the Turnberry golf course in 2014. Eric Trump, the organization’s executive vice president, told the Telegraph that the family remains committed to one day hosting the tournament.

“My family is deeply committed to Scotland and has one singular focus—preserving Turnberry as the best golf course anywhere in the world,” Eric Trump said.

He added: “We have invested nearly $200 million in the property, achieved the most prestigious accolades in the world of golf and have a course which is universally considered to be the best in the Open Championship rota.”

In addition to The Open Championship, Trump-owned golf courses have never hosted any of the other three major championships—the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, was scheduled to host the 2022 PGA Championship before organizers terminated the deal and moved the tournament to the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following the attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump-owned golf courses have played host to several events in the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf, with tournaments being played at the former U.S. president’s Miami and Bedminster courses.

Many of golf’s biggest stars have made the switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau, due to its larger purse sizes.

However, those who have made the switch have been criticized for doing so due to Saudi Arabia’s history of human rights abuses. The country has also been accused of trying to improve its image through sports, which is known as “sportswashing.”

This year’s Open Championship is being held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England, in July.