The Open chiefs tell Donald Trump his Scottish golf course is STILL blocked from hosting the tournament
The Open chiefs tell Donald Trump his Scottish golf course is STILL blocked from hosting – despite renewed pressure from the indicted ex-president following the shock PGA and LIV merger
- Organizers of The Open say Turnberry is still blocked from hosting the event
- The course was denied hosting rights due to owner Donald Trump
- Trump ramped up his pressure on The Open after Tuesday’s shocking merger
The Open organizers have reiterated that there has been no change in their stance on Turnberry as the tournament host, despite renewed pressure from Donald Trump’s family to put the famous venue back on the roster.
It was reported on Friday that the shock merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund could benefit Trump’s cause because of his connections to the LIV series.
The former US president has lobbied hard for his Turnberry course to host The Open, but he has been left out in the cold by the R&A, who led the major and declared in the wake of the 2021 Capitol riots that there would be no return until they are sure that the focus would be solely on the tournament.
That position seems eminently more relevant since Trump’s indictment in the early hours of Friday, but Trump’s son Eric has used a column in the Daily Telegraph ask that politicians stay out of it.
Open organizers have reiterated that Turnberry will not host the event at this time
Course owner Donald Trump had been pushing The Open to change its mind
He wrote, “In a family so deeply committed to the birthplace of golf, we could never have imagined that politics could jeopardize Turnberry’s ability to host another Open.”
Despite suggestions that Trump will have more leverage in golf now that the Saudis have bought massive influence into the sport, the R&A say there has been no shift in their opinion.
A spokesperson told Mail Sport on Friday that they remain ‘unchanged’ and referred to comments for 2021 from their CEO Martin Slumbers, who said at the time: ‘We have no plans to hold any of our championships at Turnberry and will do not. in the near future. We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the track itself, which we do not consider feasible in the current circumstances.
Turnberry, which was purchased by Trump in 2014, has not hosted The Open since 2009 and is considered one of the best courses in the world.
The merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could be beneficial to Trump’s cause