R&A offer fresh hope for Turnberry’s chances of hosting The Open

The governing body’s new boss, Mark Darbon, has extended an olive branch to Turnberry as the venue’s wait to hold The Open goes on.

There’s a fresh twist in the ongoing drama between the R&A and Turnberry.

The Open has not been held on the Ayrshire links’ stunning Ailsa course since 2009, when 59-year-old Tom Watson almost became golf’s oldest major champion before being edged out by Stewart Cink in a playoff.

Five years later, the resort was taken over by Donald Trump, the current US president, and the R&A agreed not to take the tournament back to Turnberry while that was the case.

“We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players, and the course itself,” said then chief executive Martin Slumbers. “And we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances.”

But his successor, Mark Darbon, is taking a slightly different approach.

Speaking at a media day ahead of the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush, Darbon said “it’s a course that we’d love to return to at some point”.

Reiterating the stance, he added: “Of course, when it comes to a championship like this, we also want the focus to be on the golf and so that’s a factor.”

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But, for Darbon, there are more issues to holding the annual battle for the Claret Jug at Turnberry than just its owner.

“We want The Open to be genuinely open and accessible,” Darbon explained during a round-table with the world’s press in which he also announced that the 2026 Open will be a record-breaker.

“We want to tell brilliant stories from what we think is a wonderful championship. Turnberry is a wonderful golf course and I think some of the recent improvements there have made it even better.

“Given the scale of a modern Open, we have to be really thoughtful about some of the logistical and commercial challenges and opportunities that come with staging an event like this.

“Turnberry is a brilliant golf course and a wonderful place to tell stories about our game. Where we have some challenges is around the logistical and commercial challenges. I think the last time we were there in 2009, we had just over 120,000 people and we’re going to have close to 280,000 here this summer.

“That’s really important for us because not only do we want to showcase this wonderful championship to as many people as possible, but it’s important for us in terms of our commercial model because everything that we generate from The Open, we then reinvest back into the game all around the world. So we’ve got a few challenges at Turnberry.”

It’s not a firm ‘no’, though.

“The road, rail and accommodation infrastructure presents some challenges if we wish to scale our operation there,” he added. “But we’ve got a good dialogue with the ownership group and we’ll continue to look at feasibility as we move forward.

“We’d love to return at some stage.”

That will be music to the ears of everyone involved at Turnberry, including general manager Nic Oldham, who told TG in March that the venue will “be ready” to host The Open should the R&A give them the green light.

After a second return to Portrush in six years, The Open will head to Royal Birkdale in 2026 before going back to St Andrews a year later as the R&A resumes its five-year rota for the Home of Golf.