The US President has repeatedly spoken of his ambition to see the UK’s most prestigious golf tournament once again take place in South Ayrshire. Is a deal now close?
Donald Trump’s dream of seeing the Open Championship return to Turnberry is about more than golf.
The five-star hotel and golf resort in South Ayrshire is at the centre of a major political and diplomatic wrangle.
Trump bought the legendary course in 2014 and has invested around £200m in upgrading its impressive facilities. But the Open was last played there in 2009.
The UK Government has since gone out of its way to accommodate Trump after his return to the White House. Labour ministers want to avoid upsetting the Republican chief as far as possible while negotiations continue to secure a trade deal with the US.
While foreign affairs are a reserved matter, there is a similar approach within the Scottish Government. Protecting hugely valuable industries like Scotch whisky from the threat of American tariffs is an absolute top priority.
A sure-fire way of pleasing the President would be confirming the Open will indeed return to Turnberry in the near future. The problem is, it’s not up to politicians in Holyrood or Westminster to decide.
Choosing where the Open is played each year is the responsibility of the R&A, the St Andrews-based organisation which plays a massive role in the global governance of golf.
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This is an issue already being discussed at the top level. During Starmer’s first visit to the White House as PM earlier this year, Turnberry was discussed privately by members of the President’s team with their British counterparts.
Politics has got in the way of Trump’s dream before. R&A bosses previously made it clear the Championship would not be added back to the Open rota.
In 2021, the organisation said that it would not host the tournament at Turnberry because of the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill that year.
And last November, outgoing R&A boss Martin Slumbers said this position had not changed, saying he did not want “media noise” detracting from the game.
But the organisation now has a new boss. Mark Darbon said this week he “would love” the Championship to return to Turnberry. The issue stopping it are not just political, but logistical.
Darbon said this week: “At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure.
“We’re doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.”
Turnberry is a 30 minute drive from Ayr, although there is limited rail service to nearby Girvan, a 10 minute drive from the course and hotel.
This year’s Open will take place 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.
Darbon added: “The last time we were there [Turnberry], I think we had just over 120,000 people.
“We’ve just announced that this summer we’re going to welcome nearly 280,000 people [at 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.”
Those in the UK and Scottish Governments will be hoping that point will come sooner rather than later.
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