President Donald Trump has hit a hole-in-one with the release of the 2026 PGA Tour schedule, which features his course as the host for the Miami Championship – one of nine Signature Events.
This development indicates that Trump, who has been frequently spotted on the green since his election last November, is strengthening his relationship with the PGA Tour, notwithstanding his close ties to LIV Golf. It comes after Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler made their feelings clear on proposed changes.
Trump’s Doral course, popularly known as the Blue Monster, hosts the annual LIV Golf Miami event, and his Virginia course is set to host an event next year. This suggests he could potentially host events from both sides of golf’s [now somewhat less contentious] internal dispute.
The addition of the Miami Championship – anticipated to secure sponsorship in the future and currently the only Signature Event without a named sponsor – increases the PGA Tour’s Signature Events from eight to nine.
Signature Events were originally launched by the PGA Tour as a financial countermove against LIV Golf, with each event offering a purse of $20 million. These events have a limited field and are designed to ensure thrilling outcomes for fans, with participation from all of the world’s top players.
Hosting one at the Blue Monster will be a significant enhancement to the tour and signifies a softening attitude towards the Republican President, who has played a pivotal role in mediating peace between the Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund, backers of LIV Golf.
For the 47th President, Trump has set his sights on the ultimate prize – bringing the Open Championship to the crown jewel of his golf empire; Trump Turnberry in Scotland. According to Alan Shipnuck, the Scottish government is pressuring the R&A intensively to return the Open to Turnberry.
The R&A had previously declared it wouldn’t choose Turnberry until guaranteed the spotlight would remain solely on golf, suggesting Trump’s ownership posed concerns. The Ailsa course previously welcomed The Open in 1986, 1994, 1997 and 2009.
Trump recently traveled to Scotland and played at Turnberry, having poured $1.4 million into course layout enhancements.
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The visit sparked significant controversy, with large-scale demonstrations outside the facility – which had recently been defaced by pro-Palestine activists – ahead of his arrival. Trump’s Turnberry visit was deemed successful, with club representatives working diligently behind closed doors to bring back the Open.
R&A chief Mark Darbon recently commented: “I met a couple of months ago with Eric Trump and some of the leadership from the Trump golf organization and from Turnberry.
“We had a really good discussion. I think they understand clearly where we’re coming from. We talked through some of the challenges that we have so we’ve got a good dialogue with them.”
