'They Want The Open To Go Back' - Donald Trump On Turnberry Return

Donald Trump claims the R&A are keen to take The Open Championship back to his Turnberry course for the first time since 2009.

Stuart Cink’s memorable victory over Tom Watson was the last time the Claret Jug was contested at the Ailsa Course before the R&A removed Turnberry from the rota days after the US Capitol riots in January 2021.

Former US president Trump has now claimed that organisers now want to bring The Open back to the Ayrshire course he bought back in 2014.

Trump made the claim when speaking at his own Trump Doral resort in Miami, after playing in the pro-am of the LIV Golf Team Championship.

"They want The Open to go back,” Trump told reporters after his round. "I can tell you they want to come back.

"It is rated the number one course in Europe now. We did a big surgery on Turnberry and it has gotten great reviews, even from people who hate me."

The Ailsa Course at Turnberry was rated number four in our latest Top 100 golf courses in the UK & Ireland list.

“Everybody wants Turnberry but we are being a little bit careful with Turnberry. The Open wants to come back. I think this (LIV Golf dispute) will have to be sorted out first.”

The R&A are yet to comment on Trump’s claims, but chief executive Martin Slumbers previously said at the time that The Open would not return to Turnberry “until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself.”

The 76-year-old Trump also added that he wanted to stage a European Legends Tour event at his other Scottish venue in Aberdeen, telling the BBC: "We want to have the PGA Seniors event, so we may do it. We're talking about it.”

And, of course, Trump had a word about Doral, which has also been stripped of hosting PGA Tour events – almost inevitably insisting that the Tour wants to return to his venue, although “it doesn’t need it because it is doing so well."

Trump added: “It has been a great success from day one. The Tour wants to be here badly. The players are in love with this place, they always have been.”

We’ll await any possible responses from the R&A and PGA Tour.