[Photo: Matthew Lewis/R&A]
The claret jug is returning to Carnoustie.
The R&A announced overnight that 2029 Open Championship will be played at the venerable links in Angus, marking the major’s first time back to Carnoustie since 2018.
“We want to continue to deliver an outstanding experience for players, fans and our partners at one of the world’s great sporting events and so have worked closely in collaboration with Carnoustie to help ensure their plans to enhance the venue also support successful stagings of The Open in the years ahead,” said R&A chief executive Mark Darbon in a press release.
In recent years the R&A has placed a greater emphasis on the commercial aspects of The Open, as the championship is used to fund the rest of the organisation’s endeavours. An internal document that was made public showed that the R&A asked Carnoustie to improve its hotel along with other facilities to facilitate future championships. In 2023, Carnoustie Golf Links was transitioned from public control into private management for a 10-year lease, with the new investors spending millions with the aim to bring back The Open to the property.
RELATED: The Open keeps growing. But is it coming at the price of tradition?
“Carnoustie is already associated with some of the Open’s most iconic moments, and we can’t wait to enhance this legacy further when the world’s best take on golf’s greatest test again in 2029,” said Carnoustie Golf Links’ chief operating officer Ross Blackadder. “Our investment in the course, facilities and wider visitor experience reflects our ambition to continue securing the championship on a regular basis, ensuring its legacy benefits Carnoustie and the wider region for generations to come.”
Unlike the US Open and PGA Championship, which announce their host sites decades down the road, the R&A publicly keeps its championship venues close to the vest. This announcement, however, means Muirfield remains wondering about its Open future. The famed Scottish course has hosted the claret jug 16 times, yet its most recent championship came in 2013. The R&A removed Muirfield from its rota briefly after the club’s initial refusal to allow women as members. As our Jamie Kennedy reports, the club has recently had no appetite to make changes to the course to facilitate a larger crowd and hospitality footprint.
With the announcement on Carnoustie, that means another Scottish course will have to wait to host The Open again. Turnberry has been out of the running after its owner, Donald Trump, ascending to the presidency, as the R&A has previously said it won’t return to the course until the focus would be on the championship itself. In recent years the R&A has said transportation changes into Turnberry also would need to be made.
Additionally, the R&A remains engaged with Portmarnock Golf Club outside of Dublin for a future Open, although transportation and infrastructure issues continue to be issued that need to be resolved.
Carnousite is widely regarded as the toughest course in the Open rota, and its 16-17-18 finish is considered one of the most demanding in championship golf. Famously at the 1999 Open, Jean Van de Velde arrived at the 18th tee with a three-shot lead, made triple-bogey after his ball found the Barry Burn and lost a playoff to Paul Lawrie, who had started the final round 10 shots behind. Padraig Harrington also hit into the burn twice on the 72nd hole in 2007 before beating Sergio Garcia in a playoff, and Francesco Molinari won in 2018 by playing the final 36 holes without a bogey. Carnoustie was the site of Ben Hogan’s 1953 win in his only Open appearance.
The 2027 Open will be played at the Old Course in St Andrews, with Ryan Fox as the defending champion. The 2028 Open is scheduled for England’s Royal Lytham & St Annes.
