Future British Open locations: Host courses, schedule for Open Championship in 2027, 2028 and beyond originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Open Championship is the oldest tournament in golf, featuring many iconic moments from many iconic venues.
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The 2026 edition of the tournament comes to Royal Birkdale for the first time since 2017, when Jordan Spieth held the Claret Jug for the first time. Once the 154th Open Championship concludes, eyes will turn to 2027, when the tournament heads to arguably the most iconic venue in the sport.
The R&A doesn’t schedule the Open Championship too far in advance, but it tends to rotate through the same group of courses over a decades-long stretch. Here’s a breakdown of where the Open Championship is headed next.
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Where is the British Open in 2027?
In 2027, the Open Championship returns to the Old Course at St. Andrews, which has hosted more Open Championships than any other course. Since the Old Course hosted its first Open Championship in 1873, it has been a part of the rotation on a consistent basis, and now hosts the tournament every five editions.
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Previously, St. Andrews hosted the 150th edition of the Open Championship in 2022, and now it is on a rotation to host the event twice a decade. That year, Cameron Smith beat out Cameron Young and Rory McIlroy for his first and only major victory.
No venue has produced more iconic moments in Open Championship history than the Old Course, which is frequently dubbed “The Home of Golf.” Golfers from all over the world make their way to Scotland just to try and play this course.
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Future British Open locations
The R&A has only scheduled Open Championship venues a few years out, but the tournament is returning to some notable courses in the next two seasons. Here’s a look at who is hosting the British Open in 2027 and 2028.
|
Year |
Course |
Location |
|
2027 |
Old Course at St. Andrews |
Fife, Scotland |
|
2028 |
Royal Lytham & St. Annes |
Lancashire, England |
2027: Old Course at St. Andrews
The Old Course at St. Andrews is one of the most iconic venues in not only golf but all of sports. It has hosted 30 Open Championship events since 1873 and now hosts a British Open once every five years.
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There are so many iconic places on the Old Course, from the “Hell Bunker” on the 14th hole to the Road Hole on 17. The course also includes double greens, where holes on the front nine going out share greens with holes on the back nine coming in.
The first hole at the Old Course is traditionally the widest fairway in golf, as it shares a fairway with the 18th hole on the other side. Tiger Woods famously completed the career Grand Slam at St. Andrews in 2000 with an eight-stroke victory, and Woods followed that up with another five-stroke win at the Old Course in 2005 for his second of three Open Championship wins.
Other golfers to have won the Open at the Old Course include Jack Nicklaus twice, Nick Faldo, John Daly, Seve Ballesteros, Sam Snead and Bobby Jones.
2028: Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club
It has been a while since Royal Lytham & St. Annes hosted an Open Championship, but the 16-year drought will end in 2028. Just over an hour outside of Liverpool and Manchester, this course is located on the western shore of England and across the water from another Open Championship venue, Royal Birkdale.
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Royal Lytham & St. Annes has hosted the Open Championship 11 times, but just twice since 1996. The last time the Open was here was in 2012, when Ernie Els won his second career Open Championship.
The first time the Open Championship came to Royal Lytham & St. Annes was in 1926, when Bobby Jones won it as an amateur. Other famous victors here include Seve Ballesteros twice, Gary Player and Peter Thomson.
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British Open venues
Currently, the R&A has 10 courses in rotation for the Open Championship that take turns hosting the tournament. Here’s a look at the 10 modern British Open courses:
|
Venue |
Location |
Number of times hosted |
Last time hosting |
Last winner |
|
Old Course at St. Andrews |
Fife, Scotland |
30 |
2022 |
Cameron Smith |
|
Muirfield |
Gullane, Scotland |
16 |
2013 |
Phil Mickelson |
|
Royal St. George’s Golf Club |
Sandwich, England |
15 |
2021 |
Collin Morikawa |
|
Royal Liverpool Golf Clup |
Hoylake, England |
11 |
2023 |
Brian Harman |
|
Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club |
Lytham St. Annes, England |
11 |
2012 |
Ernie Els |
|
Royal Troon Golf Club |
Troon, Scotland |
10 |
2024 |
Xander Schauffele |
|
Royal Birkdale Golf Club |
Southport, England |
10 |
2017 |
Jordan Spieth |
|
Carnoustie golf Links |
Carnoustie, Scotland |
8 |
2018 |
Francesco Molinari |
|
Trump Turnberry |
South Ayrshire, Scotland |
4 |
2009 |
Stewart Cink |
|
Royal Portrush |
Portrush County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
2 |
2025 |
Scottie Scheffler |
Additionally, there are four courses that the R&A dropped out of the rotation entirely due to changes in the modern game. Here are those courses:
|
Venue |
Location |
Number of times hosted |
Last time hosting |
Last winner |
|
Prestwick Golf Club |
Prestwick, Scotland |
24 |
1925 |
Jim Barnes |
|
Musselburgh Links |
Musselburgh, Scotland |
6 |
1889 |
Willie Park Jr. |
|
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club |
Deal, England |
2 |
1920 |
George Duncan |
|
Prince’s Golf Club |
Sandwich, England |
1 |
1932 |
Gene Sarazen |
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