Hosting The Open at Donald Trump's Scottish course Turnberry 'up to organisers', says Downing Street

The venue for the 2028 Open championship is up to the organisers, Downing Street has said amid reports Donald Trump has pressed for it to be hosted at his Scottish golf course.

Whitehall officials have reportedly discussed the possibility of staging the tournament at Turnberry, South Ayrshire, with the R&A following repeated requests from the US president.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman did not deny that officials had spoken to the R&A about the venue for the 2028 tournament, but insisted it was not a decision for the Government.

He added: “It’s clearly right and proper and usual for Government to engage with organisers of major sporting events as part of the business of government, but in terms of decisions around tournament hosting venues, that is for the relevant sporting bodies to take decisions on.”

A view towards Turnberry Lighthouse and Ailsa Craig from the King Robert the Bruce golf course at Trump Turnberry, Ayrshire (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Media

According to reports in the Guardian, Trump has asked Sir Keir Starmer multiple times about the possibility of hosting the Open at Turnberry, something the official spokesman also did not deny.

Turnberry has been owned by Trump’s company, the Trump Organisation, since 2014 and the president has in the past called publicly for the Open to be held there.

The course has hosted the tournament in the past, with the last occasion coming in 2009.

But attendances have grown since then leading to concerns the surrounding infrastructure could no longer cope with hosting the event.

Last week, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon described Turnberry as “better now than it ever has been”, but added: “There are some challenges around the road and rail network, some of the accommodation provision in the surrounding area, and so we’re working on what a model could look like for the future.”