Turnberry’s Wait for Open Championship Extends to Next Decade

Trump Turnberry’s wait to host another Open Championship will stretch into next decade, after the R&A announced Monday that Carnoustie Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland will host the 2029 edition of the historic event.

The Open, one of four men’s golf majors, was last played at Turnberry in 2009—five years before it was purchased for $60 million in 2014 by the Trump Organization, which is the parent company of U.S. President Donald Trump’s worldwide real estate portfolio. Turnberry has hosted four Opens total. The next available date to host the tournament is now in 2030.

R&A CEO Mark Darbon said in July that there had been “good dialogue” with Turnberry officials, but that it was still undecided whether or when the club would host another Open. Logistical challenges have been the primary reason cited by the R&A for keeping its premier championship away from Turnberry.  Attendance at the 2009 Open at Turnberry was 130,000—well below the record 306,000 fans that attended this year’s Open at Royal Birkdale.

Trump-owned courses hosted five events this year across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour. In 2025, Turnberry made more money than any of Trump’s other golf properties outside the U.S., generating more than $31 million in golf and hotel related revenue. Trump last year reportedly inquired with U.K. government officials about helping get another Open Championship at Turnberry.

Also vying for a future edition of the Open is Portmarnock Golf Club just outside Dublin, which would mark the first time Ireland—or any nation outside of the U.K.—hosts the Open. Darbon in July said the R&A was “getting pretty close” to a deal with Portmarnock.

Carnoustie’s Cash Flow

In 2029, Carnoustie will host the Open for a ninth time, and first since 2018, when Francesco Molinari held off a charging Tiger Woods, among others, to win his lone major title. Attendance that week was 172,000.

A private investment group has since taken operational control of the historic course, which opened in 1842, and spent big to improve its status as a future Open host. 

Carnoustie Golf Heritage and Hospitality Group (CGHH) bought the Carnoustie Golf Hotel in 2023 from another private investment group for nearly $12 million. The Angus Council, the local authority, still owns the Carnoustie golf course land but in 2025 turned over operations to CGHH as part of the $6.7 million lease deal that runs through 2033. Discussions about a longer-term deal are ongoing. CCHH has already spent nearly $14 million on acquisitions and infrastructure improvements at Carnoustie.