Donald Trump will have to sell his Turnberry golf resort before the Scottish course is considered for another Open Championship.
The 45th US president has pushed for his Ayrshire venue to be chosen again, saying this month that “everyone wants to see The Open Championship here”.
However, insiders close to the R&A, the company that runs the original golf championship, have confirmed it is once again facing rejection, with organizers adamantly saying it will not be considered. Trump was told he was unlikely to get an Open after the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. A source said the position remained as strong as it was then due to the security risk perceived potential manifestations.
The 151st Open takes place this summer at Royal Liverpool from July 16. But Trump, who is considered likely to be the Republican nominee for a potential second stint in the White House, has spoken about the relationship with the R&A in recent months. In an interview with GB News when he last visited the course on May 3, he said he had “spent a huge sum” to redevelop the course on the advice of former The R&A chief executive Peter Dawson.
“It was done with a great architect,” he said. “A great golf architect recommended by Peter Dawson…I said, give me the best and Martin Grant Hawtree. He’s a fabulous guy, a fabulous man…What he does is this type of course, he really did a great job.
He added: “We’re going to make a few minor tweaks but it’s fantastic. Everyone wants to see the Open Championship here – the players, it’s their favorite course, it’s number one in Europe.
Big Upcoming Events at Trump Courts
Trump will host his biggest men’s tournament in the UK to date in August – the PGA Seniors Championship at his controversial course near Aberdeen. There are also plans to hold a LIV event in Doonbeg in County Clare, possibly next year. This year, his classes are hosting three of the Saudi-funded circuit events, including last week in Washington DC.
Trump bought Turnberry in 2014, five years after golf’s oldest major was last staged. R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers first said in January 2021 that his organization “did not intend to hold any of our Championships at Turnberry and will not do so for the foreseeable future” .
Three years later, an R&A source told Telegraph Sport “our position remains unchanged”. The source added: “We have no plans to hold any of our championships there for the foreseeable future and we will not be returning until we are confident that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself,” the insider added. Another insider close to touring added, “How it looks now, should sell out before anything changes.”
The former US president spent time in the South Ayrshire resort town three weeks ago. Trump Turnberry staff waved hats that said “Made Turnberry Great Again” as they saluted him.
He is still the subject of legal action in the United States. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and is also facing a civil trial over an allegation that he raped an advice columnist in the mid-1990s.
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