With the 2026 FIFA World Cup less than a year away, President Donald Trump appears to warming up with a grand tour of every major US sporting event.
Trump has already ticked off the Club World Cup, where he presented the trophy, the US Open, where he was booed by the crowd and the Super Bowl, where Taylor Swift received much more crowd abuse than the commander-in-chief.
So, Trump’s announcement that he would be attending the opening round of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York on September 26, came as no great surprise.
However, he might be having second thoughts after a disastrous appearance at the US Open men’s final on Sunday afternoon.
The match between Jannik Sinner and eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz was delayed by 48 minutes as Trump and his entourage rocked up to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, which triggered enhanced security measures for fans trying to enter the venue.
The crowd, already fuming after being stuck in long queues that saw many miss the start of the final, took their frustrations out on Trump. He was roundly booed by the crowd when he appeared on the stadium’s big screens.
Now the focus turns to the Ryder Cup and the potential additional security headache the PGA will have to deal with if Trump does show at the start of the tournament.
The PGA is expecting record crowds of 60,000 a day at Bethpage Black, and is already gearing up for a backlash from its paying customers.
“While President Trump has indicated his interest in attending the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, specific details have not been confirmed,” the PGA of America said in a statement.
“As we get closer to Ryder Cup week, we will communicate any relevant updates that may impact the Ryder Cup experience. Our priority remains delivering a seamless, secure, and first-class environment for all our guests.”
The extra security in New York will add even more to the final price of Trump’s trip, with many expecting it to be one of the biggest bills in the history of golf.
How much will Donald Trump’s Ryder Cup visit cost?
While no official figure has been released yet. Previous data from other sporting events gives a clear estimate of what the US taxpayer could expect to fork out at the Ryder Cup.
By mid August, Trump’s trips to various golf courses had reportedly cost the US taxpayer over $71million since he returned to office in January. A private visit to one of his clubs in Scotland, cost the local police £3.2 million, with overtime pegged at around £1.6 million.
His attendance at the Super Bowl came in at around $20million for a little over three hours, while estimates for the US Open are already around the $8million mark.
Trump’s Ryder Cup final bill could hit a whopping total of $17m, given the scale of the operation expected on Long Island in New York.
The cost of Air Force One at around $270,000 per hour, plus flights for accompanying cargo such as motorcade vehicles, ticks the price up to $1-2m just for transport to and from the venue.
Secret Service, local policing, perimeter planning, hotel rooms, security checkpoints and salaries, as well as specialised enforcement units could hit a staggering $15m.
An increased threat level is also expected to increase the price, especially after Trump rubbed the US Open crowd up the wrong way at the weekend.
Plus there’s also the start of a trial of a man who plotted to shoot Trump on a Florida golf course during last year’s presidential election campaign.
To put the estimated $17million into perspective, the US Ryder Cup team are reportedly due to earn around $500,000 per golfer for the three-day event – with many players giving their whole fee to charity.
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