Future British Open locations: Host courses, schedule for Open Championship in 2027, 2028 and beyond

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The Open Championship is the oldest tournament in golf, featuring many iconic moments from many iconic venues.

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.

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.

YearCourseLocation
2027Old Course at St. AndrewsFife, Scotland
2028Royal Lytham & St. AnnesLancashire, 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.

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.

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:

VenueLocationNumber of times hostedLast time hostingLast winner
Old Course at St. AndrewsFife, Scotland302022Cameron Smith
MuirfieldGullane, Scotland162013Phil Mickelson
Royal St. George's Golf ClubSandwich, England152021Collin Morikawa
Royal Liverpool Golf ClupHoylake, England112023Brian Harman
Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf ClubLytham St. Annes, England112012Ernie Els
Royal Troon Golf ClubTroon, Scotland102024Xander Schauffele
Royal Birkdale Golf ClubSouthport, England102017Jordan Spieth
Carnoustie golf LinksCarnoustie, Scotland82018Francesco Molinari
Trump TurnberrySouth Ayrshire, Scotland42009Stewart Cink
Royal PortrushPortrush County Antrim, Northern Ireland22025Scottie 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:

VenueLocationNumber of times hostedLast time hostingLast winner
Prestwick Golf ClubPrestwick, Scotland241925Jim Barnes
Musselburgh LinksMusselburgh, Scotland61889Willie Park Jr.
Royal Cinque Ports Golf ClubDeal, England21920George Duncan
Prince's Golf ClubSandwich, England11932Gene Sarazen
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