President Trump poured hundreds of millions into reviving one of golf’s crown jewels—Scotland’s Turnberry—but it’s still banned from hosting the Open. Why? Politics. This isn’t just about turf and tee times—it’s about power, prestige, and the global establishment’s resistance to Trump’s influence, even outside of Washington.
On Saturday’s WarRoom with Steve Bannon, golf analyst Josh Petit laid it all out: Trump’s Turnberry, despite being one of the finest courses in the world, has been blacklisted from the Open Championship. Why? Because Donald Trump owns it.
Let’s rewind. The Ailsa Course at Turnberry has hosted the Open four times, most recently in 2009. It’s iconic, with windswept cliffs, a brutal layout, and a rich history. In 2014, Trump purchased the near-bankrupt resort for $60 million and invested an additional $ 200 million to transform it into a top-tier venue. Petit calls it "right up there with St. Andrews.” By all measures, it’s qualified, yet the R&A (Royal & Ancient Golf Club), which runs the Open, keeps it out of the rotation.
Officially, they blame logistics: limited roads, tight accommodations, outdated rail links. But Petit and Bannon aren’t buying it. In 2009, the Open drew about 123,000 people. Now it’s over 280,000. Sure, that’s a logistical leap, but those same hurdles existed when the R&A last chose Turnberry. What’s changed? Trump.
The fundamental shift came after Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015. The R&A got squeamish, worried his presence would distract from the golf. Then January 6 happened, and the R&A flat-out said Turnberry wouldn’t be considered "in the foreseeable future.” Petit and Bannon see this as thinly veiled political bias—a snub from the elite golf world that just can’t separate the man from the real estate.
But here’s the twist: that wall might be cracking. Petit says there are now "high-level conversations” between the Trump Organization and R&A, with whispers that Turnberry could return to the Open schedule by 2028 or 2029. The new R&A CEO, Mark Darbon, isn’t talking about Trump politics—he’s back to talking logistics. That’s a shift from his predecessor, Martin Slumbers, who was firmly anti-Turnberry under Trump.
There’s even talk that the UK government is quietly looking into backing Turnberry for the 2028 Open—possibly to stay on good terms with Trump if he’s back in the White House.
So why does any of this matter? Because this isn’t just about golf. It’s about how far political grudges reach. Trump’s ownership turned Turnberry into a third rail for golf’s ruling class. And it’s revealing just how deeply personal bias, global image, and elite gatekeeping infect even so-called neutral institutions.
As Bannon put it, this is about more than fairways—it’s about how power operates when Trump’s name is involved. Whether it’s D.C. or the Scottish coast, the fight over Turnberry is just another front in Trump’s long war with the establishment.
Will the R&A swallow its pride and do what’s right for the sport? Or will Turnberry stay benched, a casualty of politics dressed up as "logistics”?
For more about this fascinating interview with Josh Petit, watch this whole segment from Saturday’s WarRoom:
