© Provided by GolfweekTrump Turnberry
The R&A, which governs golf in much of the world outside the United States and operates the British Open, has had no plans to take its men's major championship back to the Ailsa Course at Trump Turnberry in Scotland. That is unlikely to change so long as President Donald Trump owns the seaside property.
The R&A on Monday released a statement from Chief Executive Officer Martin Slumbers declaring such after the PGA of America on Sunday night announced plans to remove the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump Bedminster in New Jersey. The PGA's announcement came in the wake of a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol last week, leaving five dead, including a Capitol police officer.
"We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future," Slumbers said in the statement. "We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances."
Trump bought the iconic resort in 2014, added his name to the title and pumped millions of dollars into renovations, partly in hopes of the Ailsa Course again hosting the oldest professional major championship.
The Ailsa Course ranks No. 8 in Golfweek's Best 2021 list of top Classic Courses built before 1960 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
© Provided by Golfweek Five-time British Open champion Tom Watson plays Turnberry in 2009, an event in which the 59-year-old lost a playoff to Stewart Cink. (AP/Jon Super)
Turnberry has been the site of four British Opens, starting with 1977's Duel in the Sun between winner Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Greg Norman won the 1986 Open there, followed in 1994 by Nick Price and in 2009 by Stewart Cink, who defeated a 59-year-old Watson in a playoff.
The British Open sites are scheduled through 2024: this year at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England; 2022 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland; 2023 at Royal Liverpool in England; and 2024 at Royal Troon in Scotland.
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