It is “unthinkable” that Turnberry’s Ailsa Course would no longer host the Open Championship, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson has said.
The chief executive was responding to rumours that the famous Ayrshire course, scene of the legendary “Duel in the Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in 1977, might be edged out of the Open Championship rota of host courses.
The resort has recently been acquired by Donald Trump and renamed Trump Turnberry, with announcements of considerable changes to the Ailsa Course, but Dawson said these had the support of the R&A.
“We have talked about these changes for a number of years, to be fair,” he said. “The tenth and 11th in particular are two holes that have been looked at.
“If we’d been able to get the par-11th more into the rocks from a forward tee that would have allowed the tenth green to go back towards the coast where the 11th tee is now. That would be a great change.
“It’s not new and (course architect) Martin Ebert, who has done a lot of work with us, has been party to that. I understand Donald has now engaged Martin to do the work.
“They are thinking about other things, I understand, and the detail for that is far from complete. I believe that includes the ninth and they have assured us that we will be consulted in due course.”
Dawson added that the recent decision to bring Royal Portrush back on the rota had no effect on the existing venues, other than “they will get the Open slightly less often.”
“Turnberry is very popular with the players and has provided a huge amount of drama in the past,” he continued.
“It is unthinkable that it wouldn’t be an Open venue. It would be wrong to say we are working together because we are not yet. We know he is doing it and we know some of what he is planning.
“We are not sitting having meetings day in, day out, but he will come and consult us when he’s good and ready and that’s fine. But Martin Ebert, who we know very well, is keeping us abreast of what is going on there.”
Speaking at the pre-Open press conference at Hoylake, Dawson said that it was “massively premature to speculate” that the BBC are to lose TV rights for the championship to Sky.
The current TV deal runs through 2016, he added, although the R&A would “balance the long-term relationship with the BBC against commercial considerations” when making the next deal.
The R&A expect a total crowd of around 200,000 this week, down from the record attendance in 2006, when the Open returned to Hoylake after a near 40-year gap and the weather was particularly good.
Last year’s attendance at Muirfield was down considerably on the previous occasion the Open was at the East Lothian links, but the R&A are confident that numbers will hold up on Merseyside.