The R&A has announced that the 2028 British Open will be held at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, marking the 12th time the course has hosted the major championship. The last time Royal Lytham staged the Open was in 2012, when Ernie Els won after a dramatic collapse by Adam Scott. The gap between this year's announcement and the previous hosting is the second-longest in the club's history, with 26 years separating its first Open in 1926 and the second.
Meanwhile, Turnberry, owned by US President Donald Trump, has once again been overlooked. The course last hosted the Open in 2009, when Tom Watson lost a playoff to Stewart Cink. Since Trump purchased the resort in 2014, the R&A has not returned, with former CEO Martin Slumbers stating it would not do so until the focus could be on golf rather than the owner. R&A chief Mark Darbon held constructive talks with Eric Trump last year but cited transportation and infrastructure issues as barriers.
Muirfield, another historic links, was also passed over for 2028. The R&A has increasingly favoured larger venues such as St. Andrews and Royal Portrush, which drew nearly 280,000 spectators in 2025. The 2028 Open at Royal Lytham will be held later than usual, from August 3-6, to avoid clashing with the Olympic golf tournament at the Los Angeles Games.
