R&A Names Royal Lytham & St Annes Host for 2028 Open Championship

The Open Championship will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2028, with the R&A naming the host for the 12th time.

“The Open will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2028, with US President Donald Trump's Turnberry, and Muirfield, among the courses to miss out”

BBC

BBC Sport reported that the tournament will be held at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2028, while noting that US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry and Muirfield will “miss out.”

BBC

The BBC said Turnberry last hosted The Open in 2009 and that Muirfield has not held the tournament since 2013, framing the decision as part of a broader rotation shift.

The BBC also tied the scheduling to the Los Angeles Olympic Games golf competitions, saying The Open is being pushed back to 3-6 August in 2028 to avoid clashing with events played from 19-29 July.

GB News similarly stated that the championship is scheduled for August 3-6, 2028, and said Royal Lytham & St Annes will welcome golf’s oldest major for the first time in 16 years.

Golfmagic put the dates as “from 30 July to 6 August 2028,” describing it as the 12th time the venue has hosted the major.

The R&A chief executive Mark Darbon told the BBC that “This is one of golf's most cherished and historic venues,” and GB News quoted Darbon describing Royal Lytham & St Annes as “widely renowned as one of the world's finest links courses.”

The decision to award the 2028 Open to Royal Lytham & St Annes came with explicit explanations for why other historic venues were not selected.

BBC Sport said the Open will return to Lytham while “Turnberry, and Muirfield” are among the courses to “miss out,” and it described Turnberry’s last hosting as 2009, “five years before Trump bought the course.”

GB News

The BBC reported that “Last year R&A officials met with Trump's son Eric to discuss the tournament returning to Turnberry,” and at the time R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said there were “big logistical issues” at the venue.

Darbon told the BBC that “dialogue was ongoing” when asked on Monday about Turnberry and Muirfield’s futures as Open venues.

The BBC said Darbon’s main issue was not “who owns Turnberry” but “whether the venue and town are equipped to cope with the number of people attending the tournament.”

It cited attendance comparisons, saying “the total attendance at Turnberry 17 years ago was 120,000,” while “Royal Portrush, last year's Open hosts, coped with 280,000 spectators.”

For Muirfield, BBC Sport described it as “one of Scotland's most historic courses” that has hosted The Open 16 times, but it has not held the tournament since 2013.

The BBC added that “Two logistical issues are hampering the course now,” including infrastructure challenges around practice facilities and complications from the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club next door to Muirfield.

The R&A and Royal Lytham & St Annes leadership framed the selection as both a return to a historic venue and a major operational undertaking.

“The Open Championship will return to Royal Lytham & St Annes from 30 July to 6 August 2028, marking the 12th time the iconic links venue has hosted golf’s original major”

Golfmagic

BBC Sport quoted Mark Darbon saying: “This is one of golf's most cherished and historic venues,” and it also described the R&A’s requirement that Lytham carry out “significant work to create space for the demands of a modern Open.”

The BBC said the main change centered on remodelling the par-five 11th, “turning it from a dog-leg to a 601-yard straight hole,” by removing bushes to allow construction of a new practice area.

It added that there were “improvements to the course's internal road system” for better access and routine maintenance, and said the changes will be in the spotlight when the course hosts the AIG Women’s Open from 29 July to 2 August.

GB News quoted Darbon again, saying “Royal Lytham & St Annes is widely renowned as one of the world's finest links courses,” and it included a second Darbon line: “This is one of golf's most cherished and historic venues.”

GB News also quoted Tim Walker, chairman of council at Royal Lytham & St Annes, saying: “We are honoured to be chosen as the host venue for The 156th Open in 2028.”

In the same GB News account, Walker said the announcement comes “as we mark 100 years since Bobby Jones' victory here in 1926 and the granting of our Royal status.”

Golfmagic echoed Walker’s remarks and added local-government voices, including Allan Oldfield and Mark Wynn.

Beyond the headline decision, the sources describe how Royal Lytham & St Annes is being reshaped to handle a modern Open and larger crowds.

BBC Sport said Lytham is “near Blackpool” and that “Despite being close to the coast, players and spectators cannot see the sea,” because “the tight plot of land” is “hemmed in by a railway track and houses.”

Today's Golfer

It said the R&A required “significant work” and that the main change involved the par-five 11th, with the BBC specifying “remodelling the par-five 11th - turning it from a dog-leg to a 601-yard straight hole.”

The BBC also described the course’s internal road changes and said “The changes will be in the spotlight when the course hosts the AIG Women's Open from 29 July to 2 August.”

The “Today's Golfer” piece added operational detail, saying Lytham is “the only Open venue that doesn't offer views of the sea” and that “all four sides are surrounded by housing, with a railway line running along its southern boundary.”

It said that “Since the 2012 Open, Lytham has, at the R&A’s behest, made several changes to its layout,” and it described the 11th as being “straightening” to create “space down the right-hand side for a new driving range.”

“Today's Golfer” quoted club secretary Richard Cutler, saying: “The changes were centred around moving the par-5 11th hole to create space for a new major championship practice area.”

It further described changes to the short par-4 8th and the 10th, including “two new bunkers” and a “waste area added to the left-hand side.”

While the core story is consistent—Royal Lytham & St Annes hosting the Open in 2028—different outlets present different date ranges and different framing of the event’s scale.

“By Alex Perry, News editor and writer”

Today's Golfer

BBC Sport said the Open is “being pushed back to 3-6 August in 2028,” while Golfmagic stated it will be “from 30 July to 6 August 2028,” creating a discrepancy in the start date.

BBC

GB News also specified “August 3-6, 2028,” aligning with the BBC’s 3-6 August window.

The “Today's Golfer” account emphasized the length of the wait, describing it as “a 16-year wait” since the last Open at Lytham in 2012, and it said the 2028 Open will be the 12th time “the Claret Jug has been decided at Lytham.”

It described crowd expectations, saying the tournament “now boasts north of 250,000 spectators over the course of the week,” and it added that “in 2028 the R&A will want to sell around 100,000 more tickets than it did the last time The Open was here.”

The BBC linked the scheduling shift to the Los Angeles Olympic Games golf competitions “played from 19-29 July,” and it said the Open is “usually held during the third week of July.”

GB News added that the Open will shift to August “to prevent any scheduling conflict with the Los Angeles Olympic Games,” and it said Muirfield is unlikely to stage the championship before 2031 at the earliest.

Across the sources, the selection is presented as a return to a historic site, with BBC Sport noting The Open first went to Lytham in 1926 and “legendary American amateur Bobby Jones” winning the first of three Claret Jugs.