In January 2021, the PGA of America announced that it was stripping Trump Bedminster of the following year’s US PGA Championship.
At the time, PGA of America President Jim Richerson said: “It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand and would put at risk the PGA’s ability to deliver our many programmes and sustain the longevity of our mission.
“It was a decision made to ensure the PGA of America and PGA professionals can continue to lead and grow our game for decades to come.”
The PGA Tour had also dropped Trump’s courses from their schedule. In the meantime, several of them have hosted LIV Golf tournaments.
Before returning to the White House in January, Trump had declared that he needed just 15 minutes to resolve the differences between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. He was certain that he could broker a peace deal. Eight months later, the two sides remain as far apart as ever – and there is no sign of a deal on the horizon.
You will also know that Trump’s Turnberry Ailsa Course hasn’t staged The Open Championship since 2009, with no plans to return to the Ayrshire venue anytime soon.
So you have to wonder at the logic behind the DP World Tour staging the recent Nexo Championship at the President’s Aberdeenshire course and then do a double-take at the PGA Tour’s announcement that it is planning to stage one of its nine 2026 Signature Events at the Doral Blue Monster layout – owned by Trump!
It is interesting to note that, as yet, The Miami Championship, as the new tournament is to be called, does not have a title sponsor. I cannot help but wonder if this is because of the Trump connection.
The course has not hosted a PGA Tour event since 2016. Then Tour commissioner Tim Finchem claimed that it was axed for commercial reasons, namely that they could not find a sponsor.
PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolap said: “We’re excited to showcase the game’s greatest players competing at golf’s most iconic venues. Inspired by our players and fans, we’re accelerating the Tour’s evolution and ushering in a new era of innovation on and off the course.”
Hmmm….that is an interesting point of view.
Rory McIlroy sat out three Signature Events in 2025 – The Memorial, The Sentry and the RBC Heritage, as well as missing the FedEx St Jude Championship, the first of the playoff events.
I am willing to bet a substantial amount of money that he won’t be playing in Miami either. And I strongly suspect that he will not be the only player who opts to find something else to do that week. Trump divides opinion like nobody else I can think of and I have to admit that I am utterly baffled by the PGA Tour’s decision to welcome him back into the fold.
I am not the only one. Two-time Tour winner James Hahn said: “An extra signature event without a title sponsor at a course owned by the President. This is a joke, right?”
It would be a huge surprise if the golf-loving president does not find a way to take centre stage at Doral. And in anybody’s world, is that a good thing for the world of professional golf?
He has already announced that he will be at the Ryder Cup. And in a social media post, Trump expressed the view that Keegan Bradley should “definitely” be at Bethpage Black as US Ryder Cup captain. Whaaaat?
I also have to question a schedule that, beginning with The Masters in April, will see players facing four Signature Events and two majors (The Masters and the US PGA) in a seven-week stretch, with only the Zurich Classic in New Orleans breaking the run. Remember that the tour expects everybody who is eligible for these tournaments to play in them.
It is probable that the tour will struggle to maintain the world-class fields it strives for in these events. Competing week in, week out is exhausting, no matter the financial rewards on offer.
Doral had been home to the Doral Open from 1962. It became a World Golf Championship site in 2007 but struggled to sustain sponsorship after Trump bought it in 2012. It remains to be seen whether that situation changes in 2026.
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