Doral Resort to Mexico City: WGC is Making a Move

Mar 6, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Adam Scott celebrates with the Cadillac Championship trophy the Gene Sarazen Cup following the final round at TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Adam Scott celebrates with the Cadillac Championship trophy the Gene Sarazen Cup following the final round at TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Goodby Doral, Hello Mexico City!

Doral is officially in the WGC rearview mirror. In a move sparked by forces behind the scenes, the PGA TOUR announced it has moved the WGC tournament from Trump Doral to an unnamed site in Mexico City with the sponsor being Grupo Salinas, a company specializing in retail, television and telecommunications.  It will be called the WGC-Mexico Championship.

“Once it became apparent that we would not be able to secure sponsorship at levels that would sustain the event and help it grow at Trump National Doral, we began having serious discussions with Ricardo and Benjamin Salinas, who expressed strong interest in bringing a tournament to Mexico City to benefit golf and its development throughout Mexico,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement released to the press.

What Finchem meant by that was that he was not able to secure a commitment from General Motors/Cadillac for the future, and was left with no choice but to find another sponsor, which in this instance meant a new location.

“We want to make it clear that we have enjoyed our relationship with the Trump organization,” Finchem said at a press conference held at The Memorial.

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He added that the work done by the Trump organization was positive for the WGC-Cadillac tournament.

In addition, Finchem said that the PGA TOUR is exploring avenues to be able to bring a tournament back to Doral in the near future.

“I know everybody’s talking about politics, but it’s actually not that, in my view.” Finchem continued. “I think it’s more Donald Trump is a brand, a big brand, and when you’re asking a company to invest millions of dollars in branding a tournament, and they’re going to share that brand with the host, it’s a difficult conversation.”

While Finchem is well-known to be a Democrat, having worked in the Carter administration, he insisted in his news conference at The Memorial tournament that he left politics 30 years ago, and that this was strictly a business decision made by the PGA TOUR, which he characterized as a conservative organization.

Doral’s loss, however, is Mexico’s gain.

“With this great championship, Mexico is recognized as a major player in golf,” said Benjamin Salinas, CEO of TV Azteca. “We have some of the best golf courses in the world, and we’ll have the top 50 golfers playing here. We welcome all – sponsors, golfers and audiences – to turn their eyes towards Mexico and discover the vast opportunities it offers to the international community.”

The dates for next year will be March 2-5.

Doral has been a fixture of professional golf since 1962.   In that year, on the Blue course, which was subsequently named the Blue Monster for its lakes and difficulty,  Billy Casper won the Doral “500” Open.  It was his 17th title, and he won the tournament again in 1964 on his way to 51 career victories.

Other winners in the 1960s included Doug Sanders, Phil Rodgers, and Jack Nicklaus.   Later Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf and Raymond Floyd would capture the title as would Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Doral Resort was created by Alfred Kaskel who, in 1959, bought 2400 acres of what was considered swampland for about $49,000.  The land was approximately two miles by four miles, about the size of Key West. The name for the property, Doral, came from Kaskel’s name and his wife’s name:  Doris for DOR and Alfred for AL.

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Kaskel was not a novice developer. He was quite the real estate tycoon in New York City and had built something close to 17,000 apartments, including Gracie Towers on East End Avenue and 360 East 72d Street in Manhattan. A third of the purchase became the resort, and the rest was developed into  Doral Estates and Doral Park.