Donald Trump’s dreams of hosting golf’s Open Championship at his Turnberry course in Scotland will not be realised until the course is logistically and commercially viable, the game’s governing body has said.
Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, told Sky News Turnberry is a “challenging” venue and, despite suggestions of diplomatic pressure from London and Washington, it has no immediate plans to schedule a championship at the Ayrshire venue.
Mr Trump has made no secret of his desire to return the Open to a course he bought in 2014, with his son Eric Trump leading efforts for it to stage a first championship since 2009.
Sources close to Mr Trump’s golf interests have told Sky News the Open would be a valuable bargaining tool in the UK’s trade negotiations with the US, and the King went as far as to mention Turnberry in the invitation for a state visit hand delivered by the prime minister last month.
In his first broadcast interview since becoming chief executive last November, Mr Darbon said logistics and finances currently rule out a course that may have been outgrown by the demands of a modern Open.
“The area where there’s a bit of challenge is around the logistical and commercial side. The last time we were at Turnbury in 2009 we had 120,000 people there,” he said.
“These days a modern Open caters for 250,000 people-plus, and so we need the road and rail infrastructure to get our fan base there. We need hotel accommodation for the 60,000 bed nights we need to stage our championship and it’s challenging at that venue.”
Mr Darbon did not deny there was pressure to consider Turnberry, and indicated that politics, and the prospect of Mr Trump overshadowing any event, would also be a factor.
“We need to be confident that the focus will be on the sport and we need to ensure that the venue works for our requirement,” he added.
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