The R&A in 'good dialogue' with Donald Trump about The Open returning to Turnberry
Muirfield’s position also addressed in press conference at Portrush on eve of season’s final major
Mark Darbon, The R&A’s chief executive, has held a “really good discussion” with one of Donald Trump’s sons about the possibility of The Open returning at some point to Turnberry.
The Ayrshire venue last staged the game’s oldest major in 2009 and, since the five-star resort was bought by Trump in 2014, there had been little indication that a return might be on the cards.
Darbon, who succeeded Martin Slumbers towards the end of last year, spoke in April, though, about how he “would love” to see the event back at Turnberry and, though logistical issues need to be addressed, he delivered another positive message at a pre-153rd Open press conference at Royal Portrush on Wednesday.
“I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry,” he said. “We love the golf course, but we've got some big logistical challenges there. You see the scale of their setup here and we've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry. We've explicitly not taken it out of our pool of venues, but we'd need to address those logistical challenges should we return.”
Asked what the plans were to address those challenges, he added: “So we've had good conversations with the ownership and the venue like we do with all of our venues. 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, who is in his second stint as US president, is coming to Scotland later this month for the opening of a second course at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, with the likelihood that he will also pay a visit to Turnberry.
“It's a somewhat hypothetical question in that unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back,” said Darbon, replying to being asked if Trump’s ownership of Turnberry was an issue, something his predecessor had effectively said was, indeed, the case.
“I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump (his youngest son) 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.”
It was reported earlier in the year that Trump had made repeated requests to Prime Minister Keir Starmer for The Open in 2028 - the next slot available on The R&A’s rota - to be held at Turnberry.
Asked if that was likely to become a discussion again when Trump pays a State visit to the UK in September, Darbon said: “We have an ongoing dialogue with the UK government given that we're a major event that creates significant value into the UK economy. I think this week's event will generate £210 million of economic impact for the region which is fantastic. So we have an ongoing conversation with them.
“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.”
Darbon also addressed the situation at Muirfield, where the event was last held in 2013. “We love the golf course at Muirfield,” he said of the East Lothian venue. “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. But it's a good dialogue and we'd love to be back there in the future.”
Given that something similar has already happened at Royal Liverpool, using the practice ground next door at The Renaissance Club, where the Genesis Scottish Open was held for a seventh time last week, could be a possibility. “I think we're open minded to solutions,” commented Darbon.
Meanwhile, the tee times in Saturday’s third round at Royal Portrush are being brought forward due to a loyalist parade involving 60 bands through the streets of the County Antrim town taking place around the time fans will be leaving the course.
“I think we recognise that when we bring The Open Championship to town we are a guest in the community in which we operate,” said Darbon, who had been lined up to become Scottish Rugby’s CEO before taking The R&A role instead. “On many occasions, there are concurrent events that take place around the action that we're very focused on here within the walls of the venue.
“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.”
He confirmed that The R&A had “contributed some incremental costs to support the seamless operation of both events” and insisted that the safety of Open fans was a “prime consideration”.
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