The British Open golf championship will not be staged at the Turnberry course in Scotland owned by US President Donald Trump for the "foreseeable future", tournament organisers announced Monday.
The move follows the decision by American golf authorities to strip Trump's Bedminster course in New Jersey of the right to host the 2022 US PGA Championship.
Last week Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol building in an incident that left five people dead as they attempted to disrupt Congress from approving the result of November's US presidential election won by Joe Biden.
A statement issued by the R&A (Royal and Ancient), which runs the British Open - the only one of golf's four majors played outside the US - said taking the championship back to Turnberry would distract from events on the course.
"The R&A had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future," said chief executive Martin Slumbers.
"We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances."
The British Open switches venues every year with Turnberry one of 10 courses on the current rotation.
However, the championship has not been played at Turnberry since 2009, five years before the Trump Organisation purchased the course and renamed it "Trump Turnberry".
Situated in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland, Turnberry has played hosts to several notable moments in British Open history, including the 1977 'Duel in the Sun' when America's Tom Watson overcame compatriot Jack Nicklaus, golf's most successful major champion and a Trump supporter, in a dramatic final round.
Turnberry was also the venue where Stewart Cink thwarted the then 59-year-old Watson's bid to become golf's oldest male major championship winner when he won the 2009 British Open in a play-off.
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An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA -
Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP -
Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP -
US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP -
US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters -
Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP -
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP -
US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP -
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP -
A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg -
US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA -
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP
Trump's repeated false claims of election fraud, and his incendiary address to protesters prior to the attack on the Capitol have prompted critics to call for his resignation, his impeachment, or his removal from office as unfit under the Constitution's 25th amendment.
The 74-year-old's divisive rhetoric had long posed a problem for a game he has been identified with.
Golf greats Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam came in for criticism when they accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on Thursday - a day after the chaos in Washington.
