Trump Getting Lucrative Bailout for His Unprofitable Golf Courses by Hosting Controversial Saudi Tournament: Report
Ian MacNicol/Getty
Former President Donald Trump will be raking in the cash when his golf courses in Doral, Florida and Bedminster, New Jersey host the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament series, as detailed in a report by NBC News’ Marc Caputo.
Both Doral and Bedminster had been struggling after the PGA Tour severed its ties with the Florida course during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and the PGA of America board terminated the agreement for Bedminster to host their 2022 tournament in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s efforts to lure The Open to his course in Turnberry, Scotland host The Open flopped, with the tournament’s organizers going so far as to publicly announce they would not consider Trump Turnberry because of Trump’s controversial comments on the campaign trail. The lead sponsor of the Scottish Open similarly rebuffed entreaties about another Trump course in Scotland, Trump International Scotland, saying “you can’t put politics aside.”
The LIV Golf series has caused a massive uproar in the world of golf, with the Saudis shoveling millions of dollars to sign players like Phil Mickelson (but not, notably, Tiger Woods, who said he did not see the new tour as a “positive” development) amid outcry about human rights abuses like the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Survivors and family members of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have loudly criticized the tour, protesting the debut tournament held in June in Oregon.
Rumors have been swirling for months that Trump’s golf course profitability woes might be rescued by a cash infusion from the Saudis, and Caputo’s report Wednesday confirmed some key details about how the drama connected with this Saudi-backed golf enterprise is now about to combine with the drama that swirls around America’s 45th president.
“Money. Revenge. Disruption. International intrigue,” wrote Caputo. “These hallmarks of Donald Trump’s business brand are all colliding in his latest political controversy involving the world of professional golf.”
In the article, Caputo noted how the Saudis were pouring $2 billion into this effort, with the top player contracts reportedly reaching – or even exceeding – $150 million. Trump Bedminster will host an LIV Golf tournament later this month and Trump National Doral Miami wrapping up the series in October with an astounding $50 million purse.
The former president “has been an avid and obsessed golfer” who “clawed his way into the sport’s world,” as Caputo described him, noting the rather large chip on Trump’s shoulder over his inability to be accepted by elite and iconic East Coast courses.
Trump’s furious focus on buying and upgrading his courses around the world was a repudiation of this rejection, according to the assessment by golf commentator Alan Shipnuck, who called Trump’s new association with LIV Golf both “vengeance” and “validation.”
Trump “couldn’t break into Augusta National, or Pine Valley or Shinnecock Hills. And that burned him,” said Shipnuck. “It was the ultimate repudiation of his gauche, new money Outer Borough striving. That’s why he built his own clubs. So he could be king of his own castle.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Caputo spoke to MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson about his reporting.
“The revenge portion” of the story was “particularly interesting,” said Caputo. Trump’s properties were “world-class golf courses,” he acknowledged, which made them very expensive to own and maintain.
It was not known exactly how much Trump would be paid for hosting the LIV Golf events, but it would be “a huge amount of money,” Caputo added, and “a lot of controversy” still connected to the Saudis’ involvement in 9/11.
Watch the video above, via MSNBC.
This article has been updated to correct the identification of the organizers of The Open tournament in Scotland.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
