KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) – The PGA of America severed ties with President Donald Trump when it voted on Sunday to take the PGA Championship event off its golf course in New Jersey next year.
The vote comes four days after the Trump-fueled riot on the nation’s Capitol, while Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory. This is the second time in just five years that America’s PGA has removed one of its events from a Trump course.
PGA President Jim Richerson said the board voted to exercise its right to “terminate the agreement” with Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“We are in a political situation that was not ours,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of PGA of America, in a telephone interview. “We are the fiduciary of our members, the game, our mission and our brand. And how can we best protect this? In view of the tragic events of Wednesday, we had the feeling that we could no longer hold her at Bedminster. The damage may have been irreparable. The only real course of action was to leave. “
The PGA of America, which has about 29,000 golf professionals who mainly teach the game, signed the agreement with Trump National in 2014.
He canceled the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2015 at the Trump National Los Angeles Golf Club, after Trump’s derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants when he announced that he was seeking the Republican nomination for president. The event was definitely canceled the following spring.
Wednesday’s shocking uprising shook the country, and in golf circles, attention quickly focused on whether the PGA of America would maintain its main championship – and one of the top four golf championships – at Trump’s course in 2022.
“Our decision was not about speed and time,” said Waugh. “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 partnership with the PGA of America and is incredibly disappointed in its decision.”
“This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement,” said the statement. “As an organization, we invested many, many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at the Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster. We will continue to promote the game of golf at all levels and remain focused on operating the best golf courses anywhere in the world. “
Waugh declined to say whether America’s PGA expected any legal challenge from the Trump Organization.
Trump gave a speech to his supporters in which he repeatedly made baseless claims that the election was stolen from him and urged them to “fight”.
They invaded the US Capitol while lawmakers were in the process of certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. After forcing their way in, the violent mob ransacked the building and sent terrified officials and lawmakers into hiding. Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died.
A new poll ABC News / Ipsos launched on Sunday, found that 67% of respondents said Trump deserves a “good amount” or “big” blame for the insurrection.
“This is not because of any pressures that we feel. We are not being forced to make a decision, ”said Waugh. “We had to make a business decision. It is a perpetual institution. My job is to deliver it better than when I found it. A hundred years from now, 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 outside Washington in 2017. This was the same year that the USGA organized the US Women’s Open at Trump National in Bedminster.
Trump also owns Turnberry in Scotland, one of the most picturesque links in the British Open rotation most famous for “Duel in Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in 1977, and most recently Stewart Cink defeating 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 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 was moved to Mexico in 2017.
Waugh said that PGA of America already has a team in New Jersey to start working on selling events to the public and with local sponsorship. Now it is a question of finding a place to compete in the PGA Championship, which dates from 1916, for the next year.
The PGA will be on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, in May.
“We’ve already reached several places,” said Waugh. “We think we will have a lot of options.”