Should Trump Turnberry be an Open venue? At least 50,000 people say no

Last week, in the lead up to The Open Championship, we posited the question as to whether Trump Turnberry, a course that's both the most contentious in the UK and also undoubtedly one of its best, should be considered for addition to the rota of the game's oldest major.

It's a question that tends to crop up at this time of year, and one that has regained steam since the current US President's return to the White House last year. 

Much, of course, has changed since the days when Turnberry's owner was simply a business magnate-turned-reality TV star. He's now a two-term President of the most powerful nation on earth. He's also been found liable for rape in a civil court. Regardless of how you personally feel about him, he's undoubtedly the most divisive figure to come to power this century.

And while we suspect most fans would probably be fairly indifferent to another Trump Turnberry Open as long as they're getting to watch great golf in a great links setting, one petition calling upon the UK Government to close the door to the President has shown that there's plenty of resistance to the idea as well.

In fact, at the time of writing, it sits at just over 52,000 signatures, having added almost 30,000 names in the last couple of days as the President's state visit rapidly approaches.

The petition states: "The Open Championship must not give in to the UK government's lobbying and allow Donald Trump to host one of the world's biggest, oldest and respected golf tournaments at any of the golf courses he owns in the UK.

"[Donald Trump] is a divisive individual who is busy breaking the global economy and promoting racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and transphobic messages around the world. He is ignoring national and international law, ruining people's lives, imprisoning people without due process, and bullying Ukraine. He should not be REWARDED by our country."

Despite the public sentiment, it also seems increasingly that the eventuality of another Trump Turnberry Open is a matter of if, not when.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the UK Government, keen on keeping their relationship with the President sweet, has been lobbying R&A officials to re-extend the hand of friendship to Trump and award the course the event in 2028—the first time it will have hosted it in almost two decades. 

R&A officials also recently met with the President's son to discuss the logistical challenges the club would have to overcome to host the tournament—one which has seen its attendance almost treble since the club hosted the tournament back in 2009.

Pressed on whether he sees Trump's ownership as an issue, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said: "It's a somewhat hypothetical question.

"Unless we address the logistical challenges, it's difficult for us to go back. I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organisation from Turnberry.

"We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we are coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we have a good dialogue with them."

The R&A is set to announce the host venue of the 2028 Open sometime before mid-2026.