Donald Trump has been hitting the hitting the headlines with ever increasing frequency in recent weeks. Now he's posing serious questions for golf's governing bodies.
By Becky Gee
For those of us who attended the Ricoh Women’s British Open last August, the lasting memory may well not be the torrential rain or Inbee Park’s final round brilliance, but the sight of Donald Trump’s helicopter sitting on the lawn of the Trump Turnberry Resort with his name brashly adorned across its side.
Then Trump’s presidential intentions were considered little more than a joke and whilst there had been universal outrage at his inflammatory comments towards Mexicans, the golfing world was largely burying its head in the sand and hoping the scandal would pass. Indeed most spectators had been heard expressing a chuckle at Trump’s attempt to use the event to bolster his personal brand.
Few within the golf establishment are laughing now and with the PGA Cadillac Championship haven taken place last week at Trump’s National Doral Resort and the rhetoric emanating from the billionaire becoming ever more extreme, he is posing a serious problem for the game’s governing bodies.
Few need much introduction to Trump’s presidential ambitions or the outrageous comments that have accompanied it. Misogynistic and racist, Trump embodies everything the game is attempting to dispel in its aim to become ever more inclusive.
Nonetheless, whilst most in the United Kingdom are yet to forget Trump’s ugly battle with locals over the construction of Trump International in North East Scotland, or his lampooning of a planned wind turbine project located 3.5km offshore which Trump believed would ruin the course’s view, the Republican has actually done a lot to grow the game in the States and it would be fair to say he has done extraordinary things with the courses he has developed, particularly Doral.
Next year the 2017 Women’s US Open is to be staged at Trump National, with the governing body stating it has no intention of switching venue, whilst the PGA Championship is to be played at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey in 2022.
Here lies the paradox. The game, which is trying so hard to broaden its appeal and open its doors to new classes and creeds, is simultaneously doing business with a complete xenophobe.
To make matters worse, Trump is becoming increasingly predisposed to using golf analogys in his campaign speeches, a habit most in the golf world is wishing he’d forgo. Yesterday he compared winning presidential primaries to winning a club championship (he has reportedly played to a plus 3 handicap in the past)!!
The R&A had also, until a few weeks ago, refused to make any comment on Trump or the prospect of the Open Championship being hosted at Trump Turnberry.
‘It would be ludicrous if something said on the Presidential campaign trail dictated where an Open is held,’ said Peter Dawson the former R&A Chief Executive, shortly before his retirement in August.
It looks like the organisation has made a U-turn after announcing last month that the event would not be hosted at the Ayrshire venue anytime soon. This will surely be a blow for Trump who has thrown unlimited funds at the resort in a bid to get it Open ready.
Will the USGA follow suit and shun the New Yorker. It’s hard to say. The game is more invested in him than it would like to admit. A break-up would be inconvenient, messy and most significantly costly.
Tour commissioner Tim Finchem made little suggestion that this would be the case when asked on Sunday if the Tour was likely to review its venue for next year’s Cadillac Championship.
'‘In terms of our relationship with him, I think it’s fine.'' he said.
Nonetheless not all the players seemed overly thrilled that it was Trump, and not the world's best golfers, who grabbed most of the event's headlines. Though Adam Scott’s victory avoided any awkwardness, the situation may have been a little different if a Latin American, or god forbid a Muslim, had won on Sunday.
Unfortunately if the game’s authorities continue to sing to the billionaire’s hymn sheet it might not only be the man who is considered a mockery but the game itself.