With Royal Lytham & St Annes finally returning to the Open Championship rota in 2028, it leaves just two famous old venues still out in the cold in terms of staging the battle for the Claret Jug.
Royal Birkdale hosts this year and after the regular stop at St Andrews in 2027 the Open Championship is returning to Royal Lytham in 2028 for the first time since 2012.
Every Open Championship venue is special, but some have fallen off the rota with the likes of Royal Liverpool and, more recently, Royal Portrush becoming more regular hosts.
Lytham is back after being overshadowed by its North West of England neighbors, but two famous old Scottish courses are missing out - with Trump Turnberry and Muirfield not looking like regaining tournament hosting duties anytime soon.
But why? With 20 Opens between them nobody doubts the history, or indeed the quality, of the golf courses in question, but a controversial owner at one and some logistical problems at both limit their chances of getting back on the Open rota.
So why are Muirfield and Turnberry missing out and what are the chances of them hosting The Open again? Let's find out...
Trump Turnberry no closer to Open return
Only four Opens for Turnberry but each one high quality - including the very first in 1977 when Tom Watson edged his 'Duel in the Sun' against Jack Nicklaus - while the final one in 2009 saw Watson, now a veteran, make headlines again as he fell just short of an amazing victory at the age of 59 when losing a playoff to Stewart Cink.
But while US President Donald Trump is still leading the free world, it will not host The Open, as stated by former R&A CEO Martin Slumbers who said the publicity would detract from the Open.
“We cannot allow external media noise to overshadow what remains the original and most historic championship in golf," Slumbers told Golf Channel in 2024. "The tournament’s integrity demands that golf alone commands the spotlight.”
Trump has campaigned for a return, and new R&A boss Mark Darbon told the BBC "we'd love to be back there" but said that infrastructure is now the main problem given the size of The Open these days.
As many as 120,000 fans attended the 2009 Open at Turnberry but 278,000 visited Royal Portrush last year and over 300,000 are expected at Birkdale in 2026. So as fantastic as the Ailsa Course is, there are concerns the local transport and accommodation at the Ayrshire venue just couldn't cope.
"At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure," Darbon added.
Darbon is sounding more positive about Turnberry in terms of Trump's ownership, but those logistical challenges could mean the wait for an Open return to Turnberry will go on for some time.
Muirfield could face 20-year wait for Open return
Phil Mickelson last won there in 2013, and the Open Championship will eventually return to Muirfield - but the question of when it will return is still one without any definitive answer.
With 16 Opens held at the East Lothian venue, only St Andrews on the current rota has staged more, and it's now back under consideration after being axed in 2016 when the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers voted against allowing women members.
The vote was eventually passed and Muirfield returned to the Open rota, while in 2022 it held the AIG Women's Open to show that it was back in favor with the R&A, but as with Turnberry logistical aspects make a return tough to see in the near future.
"We love the golf course at Muirfield," said Darbon. "We're in discussions with the venue right now. There are some things 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 to facilitate some infrastructure we need, but there's some good dialogue and we'd love to go back there in the future."
There's also the fact the Scottish Open takes place the week before at the neighboring Renaissance Club which is a problem, so that would likely have to move venue to allow The Open to take place at Muirfield.
Darbon also said that history could be made as Portmarnock near Dublin is being considered as an Open venue - which could also see Muirfield being forced to wait.
All those factors mean that we're unlikely to see Muirfield host the Open again within the next five years or so, maybe even longer, although something like a 20-year wait for a return seems like far too long for a course like Muirfield.
As always though, golf has to move with the times and the size and scale of a modern Open Championship commands a huge footprint for host courses - one that as it stands Muirfield can't provide.
Forgotten Open venues
Muirfield |
Turnberry |
Lytham |
|
Opens |
16 |
4 |
11 |
First |
1892 |
1977 |
1926 |
Last |
2013 |
2009 |
2012 |
