In 2028, the winner of The Open Championship will be crowned in August for the first time in history.
The game’s oldest major is shifting from its regular July slot to avoid clashing with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which is hosting its own golf competition from July 19 to 29.
The Open has been held in August before in 1893. It was played over 36 holes and started on August 31, and was won by Scotland’s Willie Auchterlonie. 2028 will be the first time all championship days are held in the month.
The 156th Open will be the first edition not to be held in July since Alf Padgem won the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool in 1936. June now sees the US Open played as the third major of the year in the men’s calendar.
“We have worked collaboratively with the relevant bodies and our partners to agree alternative dates for staging our major championships in 2028 to accommodate the Olympic golf competitions.
“We appreciate the constructive discussions we have had with all of the stakeholders and believe that providing clarity on the dates now will assist with the planning of the global golf calendar in 2028. We can also confirm that The Open will be returning to its normal mid-July dates in 2029.”
The Open Championship has marked the end of the major season since the PGA Championship was shifted to May in 2021. The focus of the men’s game in August usually comes down to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, culminating in the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta at the end of the month.
While The Open is moving to August for 2028 alone will surprise fans, the event has not always been a July showpiece. The very first one held in 1860, and won by Willie Park Snr at Prestwick, was held in October. A string of them were then held in September.
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It has also been in April, May and November before. The first Open to be entirely held in July was in 1927, when Bobby Jones won the Claret Jug at the Old Course, which he kept from Royal Lytham & St Annes the year before.
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Where will the 2028 Open Championship be held?
The venue for The Open in 2028 is yet to be revealed. We know that the Old Course at St Andrews will be centre stage in 2027, but fans and writers alike are waiting intently to find out which venue is next.
There is a school of thought to suggest another Scottish venue mightn’t follow the Old Course in consecutive hosting years, but this was the case with the Old Course and Royal Troon in 2015 and 2016.
Carnoustie is now under the private ownership of Carnoustie Golf Heritage and Hospitality Group Limited, who say they are committed to bringing the tournament back to Angus for the first time since 2018. The R&A also said in a recent statement that they ‘look forward to returning there in due course’.
Royal Lytham & St Annes is the venue waiting most patiently, having not held The Open since 2012. Significant alterations and investment have been made at this most famous Lancashire track in order to remain in the running to host an event that attracts more fans than ever.
Muirfield in East Lothian is also waiting its turn. The last time The Open visited was in 2013, when Phil Mickelson won his sole Open title.
“We love the golf course at Muirfield,” Darbon said at the 2025 Open. “We’re in a discussion with the venue right now. There are some things that we need to evolve at Muirfield, the practice ground in particular is a challenge for us with a modern Open and there’s some work we need to do with the venue to facilitate some of the infrastructure that we require, some cabling to enable the scale of the production that we have these days.
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“But it’s a good dialogue, and we’d love to be back there in the future.”
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