Donald Trump's Turnberry faces logistical hurdles for Open return - ESPN

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — President Donald Trump is not getting an Open Championship to the Turnberry course he owns in the near future, which the R&A's new chief executive said Wednesday was more about transportation than politics.

Turnberry is regarded as the most beautiful of the links courses on the Open rotation, set along the Ayrshire coast in Scotland across from the Ailsa Craig. It last hosted the Open in 2009, before Trump bought the resort.

Mark Darbon, who took over at the R&A this year from Martin Slumbers, said that Turnberry had not been taken off the list of potential Open sites but that transportation and other issues had to be addressed.

«I think we've been extremely clear on our position in respect of Turnberry. We love the golf course, but we've got some big logistical challenges there,» he said. «You see the scale of their setup here, and we've got some work to do on the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure around Turnberry.»

Darbon said that the R&A met with Eric Trump and other leaders of Trump Golf a few months ago and that the talks had been constructive.

«I think they understand clearly where we're coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have, so we've got a good dialogue with them,» he said.

Slumbers had previously said the R&A would not be going to Turnberry until it was comfortable the focus would be on the golf and not the owner.

Turnberry has hosted the Open Championship four times, first in 1977 with the famous «Duel in the Sun» when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus. But the Open is getting bigger, and the roads are limited for getting to Turnberry.

There has been speculation Trump, whose golf courses have never hosted a men's major, might ask the British