Donald Trump has a passion for golf, and while the microcosm of the small white ball has long dealt with him best, greens have begun to erode since violent incidents by his supporters in Washington on Wednesday .
As part of a new impeachment process, nine days before the inauguration of Joe Biden, the deposed president appears irreplaceable to the sport’s leaders. If we were to use the lexical area, it would look like it was bumpy, it was difficult to get out of the high grass without damage, even in the river.
On Sunday, the PGA of America decided not to host the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey. “Our brand was at stake,” said Seth Waugh, general manager of the Grand Slam tournament’s organizing body.
The course, where the 2017 US Open took place, was chosen by the PGA of America in 2014, despite sexist comments made by billionaires during their last election campaign. That is why it is supported more for image, for business reasons than for political reasons.
This is not the first time that American golf officials have distanced themselves from Trump.
– “Golf Cheater” –
In 2015, the American Federation canceled the PGA Grand Slam at Trump National after making derogatory remarks about Mexican immigrants. And in 2016, the PGA Tour decided to move a leg of the 2017 WGC Championship to Mexico, instead of the Trump-owned Doral Club in Miami.
On Monday, R&A, the governing body of World Golf, announced that the Trump Turnberry Complex in Scotland, where the British Open has already been held several times, would no longer host the Major.
If it did not clearly put forward the political argument, R&A strongly inspired it: “We will not return until we are convinced that the tournament, players and course will be focused.”
Turnberry, Bedminster – where he played hundreds of games during his tenure – is on a list of 17 courses owned by Trump worldwide.
The future former president, who for two months condemned a bogus poll at the core of Joe Biden’s election, is “a notorious cheater in golf”, the author of Rick Cheeley’s book “Commander in Cheat”. He overcame particular irony with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who later struggled to take on these “Teeth Parties”.
– Wood embarrassed but medalist –
Woods defended in 2018, saying, “He is the President of the United States. We may not like his personality or his policy, but we must honor the ceremony.” He later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump.
McIlroy, who played with the billionaire in 2017, assured him that he “probably won’t do it again.” “It’s a very pleasant day. He’s very charismatic and kind to everyone … but that doesn’t mean I agree with everything he says.”
Trump still has supporters, most prominent among them Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 Major, who voted for the Republican nominee. “I saw them in a resolution and a determination to do what’s right for our country,” he said.
Last Thursday, following the events in Washington, Trump presented two former champions, Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam, with other medals of freedom, which also supported her candidacy and South African Gary Player. He was immediately criticized for agreeing to be honored in this way.
Another supporter, American football coach Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots, refused to receive this supreme civilian decoration, due to “the tragic events of the past week”.
There is evidence that even in the NFL, where many franchise owners are notoriously pro-Trump, but 75% of players are black, the tide is starting to turn.
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