President Trump bought Turnberry five years after he welcomed the last open and has since spent 200 million pounds on improvements. In 2023 he publicly called for the Open to host again.
New CEO MARK DARBON said last week that he would “love” the course to host the tournament again, And that logistics issues are the obstacle, not who has it.
The number of viewers attending the Open has increased drastically since 120,000 people attended Turnberry in 2009, with 278,000 viewers ready to attend this year’s event at Royal Retrush.
A viability survey has been commissioned to assess whether the local and the city are equipped to deal with such numbers, with interrogation signs on transportation and accommodation.
Darbon’s stance is a significant change of that of his predecessor, Martin Slumbers, who firmly suggested that the course would not be restored to the open route while Trump was associated with the place, expressing the concern that the focus would be out of the course.
This led to suggestions that Whitehall officials have promoted the Open to return to Turnberry, with desired ministers to please Trump after his ongoing tariff and commercial talk policy between the two countries.
Sources on both sides deny that the pressure has been applied.
In February, it was reported that the White House officials raised the possibility of Turnberry returning as a headquarters for the Open during the visit of Minster to Washington. King Charles even referred to the course in a letter inviting the president to a second state visit to the United Kingdom.