Cash-strapped historic Open venue takes major action in bid for Claret Jug return

Carnoustie Golf Links is under new ownership.

For the first time in its near 200-year history, Carnoustie Golf Links is no longer a publicly-owned golf course.

According to a report in The Scotsman, a short-term deal has been agreed by cash-strapped Angus Council to hand over the running of the eight-time Open Championship venue to a private consortium of financiers.

The original arrangement will run until 2033, though the council and the Carnoustie Golf Heritage & Hospitality Group are in “advanced talks” to extend that deal into the next century.

Carnoustie majors

The Open

• 1931 (Tommy Armour)
• 1937 (Henry Cotton)
• 1953 (Ben Hogan)
• 1968 (Gary Player)
• 1975 (Tom Watson)
• 1999 (Paul Lawrie)
• 2007 (Padraig Harrington)
• 2018 (Francesco Molinari)

Women’s Open

• 2011 (Yani Tseng)
• 2021 (Anna Nordqvist)

Senior Open

• 2010 (Bernhard Langer)
• 2016 (Paul Broadhurst)
• 2024 (KJ Choi)

The report says the driving force behind the deal was a lack of funds to make improvements to on-site facilities – a significant reason why the R&A have not taken golf’s oldest major back to the famous links since Francesco Molinari lifted the Claret Jug in 2018.

It also says there is “concern the venue could ultimately fall into the hands of other parties, such as Saudi Arabia, or even US president Donald Trump“.

The reported seven-figure deal will also see the Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee – a charitable company that oversees the resort’s three courses – hand over it intellectual property rights, including the Carnoustie Golf Links trademark, as well as all assets and staff.

Today’s Golfer has reached out to both Angus Council and Carnoustie Golf Links for comment.

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