The Open Championship won’t be headed to Turnberry anytime soon.
After the PGA of America terminated its contract to host the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Bedminster, the R&A followed suit Monday morning in distancing itself from President Trump in the wake of the attack on the Capitol building.
In a brief statement, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said that he won’t bring The Open back to Trump-owned Turnberry “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,” Slumbers said, “and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances.”
Revenue, reputation fuel PGA’s Trump course move
Turnberry hasn’t hosted an Open since 2009, when Stewart Cink defeated Tom Watson in a playoff. Trump bought the property in 2014 but has yet to land a men’s Open. The AIG Women’s Open was held there in 2015, an event overshadowed by the presence of the then-presidential hopeful who said of his appearance there: “Everybody has asked me to be here. The world has asked me to be here.”
On the men’s side, Turnberry had effectively been dropped from the Open rota, with R&A officials fielding questions each year about the legendary links’ status. On Monday, Slumbers said they had “no plans” to stage any of its championship at Turnberry and “will not do so in the foreseeable future.”
The R&A has locked in the next four Open venues, with Royal St. George’s (2021), St. Andrews (2022), Royal Liverpool (2023) and Royal Troon (2024) on the schedule.
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