Golf-R&A looking into feasibility of Trump’s Turnberry as venue for the Open

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(Reuters) – The R&A would like to see U.S. President Donald Trump’s Turnberry course in Scotland return as host of The Open but will first need to assess the feasibility of the venue, the governing body’s chief executive Mark Darbon said.

Turnberry, a seaside course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, has staged The Open four times – most recently in 2009 when American Stewart Cink won. Trump bought the property in 2014.

In 2021, after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, the R&A said it would not stage championships at Turnberry, but Darbon said the body’s main concerns over returning to the venue were logistical.

“At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure,” Darbon told British media.

“We’re doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.”

The 153rd edition of The Open, one of golf’s major championships, will take place from July 13-20 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, with the R&A announcing on Tuesday that a record attendance of 278,000 fans is expected at the event.

“The last time we were there (Turnberry), I think we had just over 120,000 people,” Darbon said.

“We’ve just announced that this summer we’re going to welcome nearly 280,000 people here (Royal Portrush). A modern Open Championship is a large-scale event.

“What we know for sure is the golf course is brilliant, so at some point we’d love to be back there.”

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)