With President Donald Trump in attendance for Sunday’s U.S. Open men’s final, the fan experience was greatly disrupted.
The start of the tennis match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was delayed by about 45 minutes because of the extra security, which included long lines of fans waiting to pass through airport-like Secret Service screening checkpoints. Thousands of disgruntled fans remained outside Arthur Ashe Stadium well after the match had started.
Trump plans to attend another seismic local sporting event later this month as the Ryder Cup comes to Bethpage Black. He said he will be there on Friday, Sept. 26, the first of three days of team golf competition between the U.S. and Europe.
While fans would hope to avoid the headaches from the U.S. Open, the logistics surrounding Trump at the Ryder Cup are not completely set.
“While President Trump has indicated interest in attending the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, specific details have not been confirmed,” the PGA of America, which owns and operates the Ryder Cup, said in a statement to Newsday. “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 event for all our guests.”
In a Truth Social post on Aug. 23, Trump wrote: “It will be a great Ryder Cup. At the invite of the PGA Tour, I will be there on Tournament Friday!!!”
The preparation for a tournament week expecting over 250,000 attendees from more than 100 countries had already been in place, with a large security operation featuring SWAT teams, trained dogs, tethered drones and undercover officers in the crowd.
“This is a global event, and our mission is to keep everyone safe while minimizing the disruption that this causes to the local communities,” Major Stephen Udice, who oversees New York State Police operations on Long Island, said in early August. “Security is going to be our top priority.”
Team Europe captain Luke Donald spoke about the possibility of Trump’s presence at a news conference Wednesday ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England.
“The PGA of America is obviously organizing this. There was some delays at the tennis — I think you’re probably all aware of that — but hopefully they have learnt from that,” Donald said. “It’s a big process, obviously, to get a president to come to an event. There’s a lot of security and everything. It takes some work, I’m sure. The PGA of America’s job is to make sure it’s seamless, and he wants to be there to probably greet the players, and I think the crowd is probably going to be loud no matter what.”
In the same Truth Social post, Trump wrote that U.S. captain Keegan Bradley “DEFINITELY” should be on the team. Bradley opted against being a playing captain, ultimately not selecting himself with one of his six captain’s picks.
“Any time you get the support of the President of the United States, it’s really surreal and stunning,” Bradley said during his Aug. 27 news conference. “I really appreciate it, Mr. President. I hope you’re not disappointed.
“We look forward to seeing you at the Ryder Cup.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins’ teams.
