Dubai government's sale of Turnberry sees property
tycoon Donald Trump propose a deal for golf's historic Open Championship host
(From The Telegraph website, by James
Corrigan, Golf Correspondent)
The Open Championship will not have seen anything
quite like it. Donald Trump, the controversial billionaire property developer,
is set to buy himself a piece of golf’s most historic tournament with a £35
million deal for Turnberry expected to be finalised soon.
The revered South Ayrshire course, which is almost
guaranteed to host its fifth Open in the next decade, is currently owned by
Leisurecorp, a subsidiary of the Dubai government, and has been unofficially up
for sale since the global financial downturn hit the emirate so hard.
Dubai bought the resort – which includes two other
courses as well as a golf academy, a five-star hotel and lodge and cottage
accommodations – for £52 million and when Tom Watson almost won the following
year’s Open there, bringing yet more exposure to the layout on the rugged
coastline overlooking the Firth of Clyde, it seemed good business.
Yet Trump is ready to increase his ever-expanding
golfing empire – which currently stands at 16 resorts – by paying almost £17
million less than the Sheikhs at the same time as earning himself a place at
the heart of the game’s establishment. “The deal is not done yet, but it should
be soon,” a source said on Sunday.
Turnberry
is the only one of the nine courses on the current Open roster which is owned
by a private company, rather than by the members – in the case of Muirfield and
others – or by local authorities in the case of St Andrews and
Carnoustie.
As well
as infrastructure problems and comparatively poor attendances, this was
considered one of the reasons why the R&A, the game’s governing body which
runs the British, did not stage the Open there between 1994 and
2009.
Yet
because of the quality of the links, as well as its scenery and it’s place in
the game – it hosted the legendary 1977 Duel in The Sun which saw Watson beat
Jack Nicklaus – the R&A was drawn back to the course, which boasts its own
lighthouse as well as the view of the Ailsa Craig, the volcanic island 10 miles
out to sea.
It will
be interesting how the R&A reacts to Trump’s purchase, although it would be
highly doubtful Trump would affect the course’s status on the rota. Within the
sport, Trump’s influence is seen as positive, as he has updated and
substantially improved golf resorts.
Trump
bought Doral, the Miami resort, for £89 million two years ago and, after a
£148million overhaul, was a larger-than-life presence at the WGC Cadillac
Championship last month, which featured most of the world’s top
players.
The
majors are next on the Trump radar and it is believed that he has assurances to
host the US PGA Championship and is close to securing a US Open. But Turnberry
will be Trump’s biggest coup yet, both in terms of the heritage of the course
itself and the inevitable publicity his ownership will generate. The Women’s
British Open will take place at Turnberry next year.
The
flamboyant 67-year-old, with his trademark quiff and outspoken opinions, will
doubtless flaunt his acquisition in front of the Scottish Assembly,
particularly the First Minister, Alex Salmond. Since building the Trump
International Links on the Menie Estate perched on the Aberdeenshire coast, he
has waged a public battle against the building of offshore wind turbines which
he claims are a blight on the views from his, and other courses.
Although
that particular links, which Trump claims to be the “best course in the world”,
has opened, the turbine row has seen him suspend the construction of a proposed
450-bedroom hotel, conference facilities and residential developments. Trump
considered taking legal action when You’ve Been Trumped, a British-made
documentary which focused on some of the disgruntled long-term residents by
that beach in Balmedie, was released in 2011.
In an
interview with the Telegraph last month, Trump vowed not to make any more
investments in Scotland until the turbine project is shelved. He has clearly
found Turnberry irresistible, however. Neither Trump nor Turnberry were
available for comment.
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