Eric Trump says he is confident that the Open Championship will return to Turnberry.
The Donald Trump-owned course in Ayrshire, Scotland, was stripped of its status as an Open venue by the sport’s governing body, the R&A, in January 2021 following the riot at the Capitol.
Eric, whose father could be re-elected to the White House on November 5, told the Daily Mail that he believes the celebrated course will host the Open again once ‘the political noise dies’.
‘Well there’s a lot of downsides to politics – it creates politically charged worlds and Turnberry was a victim,’ Eric said.
‘I don’t think there’s anybody over in the UK who wouldn’t say that Turnberry is the greatest course on the rota.’
Eric Trump speaks to the Daily Mail from his office in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday
Tom Watson marches ahead of Jack Nicklaus during the final round of the 1977 Open Championship on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry
The 40-year-old leader of the Trump Organization said that $200m had been invested into the property and pledged it would always be the best.
Donald Trump bought the golf courses and hotel at Turnberry from Leisurecorp in 2014 for $60 million, and the resort was renamed Trump Turnberry.
Turnberry has hosted the Open – one of four prestigious majors on the annual golf calendar – on four previous occasions, most recently in 2009.
It was the setting for the unforgettable ‘Duel in the Sun’ when Tom Watson triumphed over Jack Nicklaus by just one stroke in 1977.
Two-time LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull recently spoke of her love for the course and explained why it should be back on the rota.
‘It’s one of the best golf courses in the world,’ Hull said in August ahead of the Scottish Open. ‘I think it’s a shame. It is a really top track.’
Eric referred to the course as ‘my baby’ and said the Trump Organization will continue to be dedicated stewards of the iconic site until the R&A feels ready to come back around.
‘I love my baby. I built every inch of it and it’s really the best anywhere in the world. It will be in our family forever and whenever they’re ready, we’ll be here, we’ll be ready and we’ll do something very special.’
LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull (pictured at the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club on May 30) recently spoke of her love for Turnberry
Five days after the storming of the Capitol, Donald Trump was issued a stinging rebuke by the R&A when it axed Turnberry from its rota of the ten most hallowed courses in Britain.
‘We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances,’ R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said in a statement.
It followed a similar move the day before by the PGA of America which stripped Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, of the 2022 PGA Championship following a vote by its board of directors.
