by The R&A says that there was a “really good discussion” with Donald Trump’s family on the thorny topic of her gymnastics course course, which could invest the open course again.
The new managing director of the management committee, Martin Darbon, said that he had met with the president’s son ERIC and had positive discussions about the improvements of the infrastructure that is necessary for turnberry to organize the event since 2009.
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“I met Eric Trump and some leadership of the Trump Golforanization and Turnberry a few months ago,” Darbon told reporters. “We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we come from. We spoke some of the challenges we have and we have a good dialogue with them.”
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The open watched about 120,000 spectators when they were last kept in Turnberry. However, the event has grown in such a way that 280,000 fans will be in portrush.
Darbon, who monitors his first open championship, said that there are 1.2 million applications for tickets for the event this week and R&A is “interested in using this demand where we can”. However, he left the door open for a return to Turnberry by promising to work with the national and local government to improve transport connections and accommodations.
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This was a remarkable sound shift compared to his predecessor Martin Slumbers, who had suggested that the open to Trump’s gymnastics course would be too poisonous and would take the focus away from the golf.
“I think we have our position in relation to Turnberry,” said Darbon. “We love the golf course, but we have some big logistical challenges.
In February it was reported that officials from the White House returned to Turnberry as an event location after visiting the Prime Minister in Washington. King Charles referred to the course in a letter in which the President was invited to a second state visit to Great Britain in September.
Darbon, however, said the government did not put them under pressure to accelerate a return to the Ayrshire course that Trump bought in 2014 for £ 39 million. “We spoke specifically to you about Turnberry, and I think you have made it clear that the decision where we start our championship is with us,” he said. “We have expressly not taken it from our pool at event locations, but we have to manage these logistical challenges if we should return.”
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The R&A expects the event location for the Open 2028 before the middle of next year – a time scale that would come too early for Turnberry. Portmarnock in the Republic of Ireland is also seen as an event location in a historical step that would see the open openers for the first time outside the United Kingdom.
Elsewhere, Darbon also confirmed the Guardian story last week that R&A would move forward on Saturday to avoid a collision with a loyalistic march of the portrush sons of Ulster.
It is expected that more than 60 bands and 2,000 participants will start their march through the streets of the city, shortly after thousands of spectators are left to leave the sold -out royal portrush, and darbon said that the improvement was necessary to ensure that “both events can run as seamless as possible”.
He said: “We make a slight change in T -shirt Times to try to finish -it is not dramatic. It will be about 15 minutes earlier. At the same time, this is an outdoor sport. The weather can play a major role. It is very difficult to be precise during the end times.
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Darbon also refused to refuse to report that the group had offered £ 20,000 to stage their march on another day. “We actually contribute some incremental costs to support what I just said, the seamless company of both events. We try to be good citizens in the communities in which we work when we come to the city.”
