Will The Open be held in Scotland again? Talks held with Donald Trump's son to end 12 year exile

Daily Record

16-07-2025

The Scottish venues have not been used for the showpiece event in a dozen years but talks have been held to possibly end that exile
Open chief Mark Darbon has spoken with Donald Trump 's son over a future for the competition at Turnberry.
But the R&A boss has outlined the key issues currently preventing the Ayrshire track and Muirfield from hosting The Championship.
The Scottish venues have not been used for the showpiece event in a dozen years.
Muirfield last staged in 2013, while Turnberry has not had an Open since 2009.
Speaking on the eve of Royal Portrush staging for the second time in six years, R&A chief executive Darbon says there has been dialogue with both venues, but lay-out concerns remain.
He said: 'I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry. We love the golf course but we've got some big logistical challenges there. We've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry.
'We'd need to address those logistical challenges should we return. We'll continue to assess the feasibility and work collaboratively not just with the venue but with local and national government to understand what may be possible and that process at Turnberry is no different to any of our other locations.'
Trump is heading to Scotland soon and, when asked if the fact he was owner was having an impact on the decisions, he replied: 'It's a somewhat hypothetical question in that unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back.
'I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organisation and from Turnberry. We had a really good discussion.
'I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have so we've got a good dialogue with them.'
Darbon added: 'We have an ongoing dialogue with the UK government given that we're a major event that creates significant value into the UK economy. We've spoken to them specifically about Turnberry and I think they've made it clear that the decision around where we take our championship rests with us.
'I would find it difficult to predict whether there will be any discussion on The Open if the President is making a visit here.'
As regards Muirfield, Darbon said: 'We love the course. We're in a discussion with the venue right now.
'There's some things that we need to evolve at Muirfield, the practice ground in particular is a challenge for us with a modern Open and there's some work we need to do with the venue to facilitate some of the infrastructure that we require, some cabling to enable the scale of the production that we have these days.
'We'd love to be back there in the future. We're open minded to solutions and we'd love to be back there in the future.'
Meanwhile, Darbon confirmed Saturday tee-times have been tweaked due to Saturday's band parade in Portrush.
He said: 'I think we recognise that when we bring The Open Championship to town we are a guest in the community in which we operate. So recognising the events that are taking place on Saturday we've worked really collaboratively with the organisers and across multiple agency groups to ensure primarily that both events can run as seamlessly as possible.
'We're making a slight tweak to tee times. It's not dramatic. It'll be 15 minutes or so earlier. At the same time, this is an outdoor sport. The weather can play a big role. It's very difficult to be precise on finishing times. But we're looking at some marginal adjustments.'