The Open Championship will return to Carnoustie in 2029, the R&A has announced, bringing golf's oldest major back to the Angus links for the first time in 11 years.

The 157th Open will be played on the Championship Course from 19 to 22 July 2029. It will be the ninth time Carnoustie has staged the championship, which was last held there in 2018 when Francesco Molinari became the first Italian to lift the Claret Jug.

A famous links returns to the rota

Carnoustie is widely regarded as one of the toughest tests in the Open rota, and its roll of honour includes Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Paul Lawrie and Padraig Harrington. Molinari's two-shot victory in 2018 came after he held off Tiger Woods on the final day.

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said Carnoustie was a world-class championship venue where some of golf's greatest players had lifted the Claret Jug, adding that its return after more than a decade would give fans the chance to be part of another memorable chapter in the championship's history.

The R&A said it had worked closely with Carnoustie on plans to improve the venue so it can support successful stagings of the Open in the years ahead. The announcement also highlighted the partnership behind the 2029 championship, including the Scottish Government and VisitScotland.

What comes next for the Open

The 2029 date completes the next three venues in the championship's schedule. The Open heads to the Old Course at St Andrews in 2027 before moving to Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2028, where the championship will be played in August to accommodate the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

No venue has been confirmed beyond Carnoustie's 2029 staging. The announcement means Turnberry, owned by US President Donald Trump, will wait longer for a return to the rota, while Muirfield also remains without a confirmed date. The R&A has previously said Turnberry would not return until the focus would be on the championship itself, with Darbon pointing to logistical and commercial challenges at the Ayrshire course.

For Carnoustie, the wait is over. Eleven years after Molinari's win, the Claret Jug is heading back to one of the game's most demanding links.

Golf's oldest major returns to Angus

The Open is golf's oldest major championship, first played in 1860, and Carnoustie has been part of its story since Ben Hogan won there in 1953. The full championship week in 2029 runs from 15 to 22 July, with the four rounds of play from 19 to 22 July. Tickets and hospitality details are expected to be announced by the R&A closer to the event.