KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) – The PGA of America severed ties with President Donald Trump when he voted Sunday to withdraw the PGA Championship event from his New Jersey golf course next year.
The vote comes four days after Trump’s riot at the nation’s Capitol as Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. This is the second time in just over five years that the PGA of America has eliminated one of its events from a Trump course.
PGA President Jim Richerson says the board voted to exercise its right to “terminate the agreement” with Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“We’re in a political situation that we’re not creating,” Peth of America CEO Seth Waugh said in a telephone interview. “We are the trustees of our members, of the game, of our mission and of our brand. And how can we better protect it? Our feeling was given to the tragic Wednesday events that we could no longer celebrate at Bedminster. The damage could have been irreparable. The only real line of action was to leave.
The PGA of America, which has about 29,000 golf professionals who mostly teach the game, signed the deal with Trump National in 2014.
He canceled the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2015 at the Trump National Los Angeles Golf Club following Trump’s derogatory statements about Mexican immigrants when he announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for the presidency. The event was permanently canceled the following spring.
Wednesday’s shocking insurgency shook the country, and in golf circles, attention quickly focused on whether America’s PGA would hold its first championship and one of the four major golf championships at Trump’s course on 2022.
“Our decision wasn’t about speed and time,” Waugh said. “What matters most to our board and leadership is to protect our brand and reputation and the ability of our members to lead the growth of the game, which they do through so many powerful programs in their communities.”
The Trump Organization said in a statement that it has “a beautiful association with the PGA of America and is incredibly disappointed with its decision.”
“This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement,” the statement said. “As an organization, we have invested many, many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster. We will continue to promote the game of golf at all levels and continue to focus on operating the best golf courses around the world. “
Waugh declined to say whether America’s PGA expected legal challenges from the Trump Organization.
Trump had delivered a speech to his supporters in which he repeatedly made baseless claims that stole his election and urged them to “fight”.
They stormed the U.S. Capitol while lawmakers were in the process of certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. After forcing their way inside, the violent crowd looted the building and sent hidden personnel and terrified lawmakers. Five people, including a Capitol police officer, were killed.
A new ABC News / Ipsos poll published Sunday found that 67% of respondents said Trump deserves a “good amount” or a “large amount” of blame for the insurgency.
“This is not due to the pressures we feel. We are not being forced to make a decision, “Waugh said.” We had to make a business decision. It is a perpetual institution. My job is to deliver it better than when I found it. In a hundred years we still want to be vibrant ”.
The PGA of America, which operates separately from the PGA Tour and its weekly tournaments, previously held the senior PGA Championship at the Trump camp against Washington in 2017. It was the same year that the USGA hosted the Women’s Open from the United States to Trump National in Bedminster.
Trump also owns Turnberry in Scotland, one of the most picturesque links in the rotation of the British Open most famous for the “Duel in Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in 1977, and most recently Stewart Cink beat a 59-year-old Watson in 2009. The R&A, which determines the rotation of the British Open, has not returned to Turnberry since Trump took over.
He also owns Trump Doral outside of Miami, for years a venerable stop on the PGA Tour calendar and, more recently, a World Golf Championship venue. Trump’s presence made it difficult to find a corporate sponsor and the tournament moved to Mexico in 2017.
Waugh said the PGA of America already had a team in New Jersey to start selling the events to public and local sponsorship. Now it’s about finding a place to play the PGA Championship, dating back to 1916, for next year.
The PGA is located on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, in May.
“We’ve already reached several places,” Waugh said. “We think we’ll have a lot of options.”