The crowded field of courses looking to host The Open Championship in the U.K. has recently become smaller with news filtering through that Turnberry will no longer be considered for the 2020 event. The rise in new courses and those undergoing a redesign has seen golf betting become a little more difficult as the number of courses available to the organizers of The Open has seen numerous courses used for the first time in many years. In 2016 the Royal Troon course will be used that last hosted in 2004 and saw outsider Todd Hamilton take his only major championship ahead of Ernie Els, Phil Mickleson and lee Westwood.
The course at Turnberry was purchased in 2014 by real estate mogul and Presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Republican candidate has invested in a redesign of the Turnberry course in a bid to host the 2020 event that is the world’s oldest and arguably most prestigious major tournament. The ownership of Trump seems to be the issue for The Royal & Ancient organizing committee who have taken exception to the comments of the real estate mogul over immigration and terrorism. Despite the fact Turnberry is a four time host of the tournament and last hosted in 2009 the owner has been forced into a revamp as a large number of different courses have recently been vying for hosting rights.
The options for golf betting online include many different options for betting on the winner of The Open Championship, which has thrown up a number of surprise winners over the years. Following the return of the event to Troon the course at Royal Birkdale on the northwestern coast of England will once again see the championship return to its small, but popular surroundings. The Southport course made its return to The Open calendar in 1998 when Mark O’Meara took the claret jug and was followed in 2008 by Padraig Harrington. The Irishman will be an outsider for the event in 2017 as many golf fans will find it difficult to look beyond the superstars of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
The removal of Turnberry because of the controversial comments made during the Presidential campaign of Donald Trump will be a major blow to both his business and his campaign. Trump has made large investments in golf around the world and particularly in its traditional home of Scotland. Despite the now major changes being made to the calendar for The Open Scottish courses still feature heavily in the plans for future events. Both Troon and Carnoustie will appear in the coming years to represent Scotland before a return to Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush in 2019 sees the course host its first Open since 1951.