PGA Championship Leaving Trump Course in 2022

The PGA of America made the decision to move the PGA Championship from the Trump National course in New Jersey on Sunday, after Wednesday’s events.

On Sunday, the PGA of America announced that it was taking the 2022 PGA Championship away from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. This came as a reaction to the protest at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, which many saw as incited by President Donald Trump.

As the United States Congress was ratifying the election of Joe Biden as the country’s 46th President, rioters stormed the Capitol, breaking up the proceedings. The pro-Trump rioters were fueled by the President’s speech earlier in the day.

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Since the events of Wednesday, there had been much speculation in the golfing world about what the PGA of America would decide to do with their premier event.

"“We find ourselves in a political situation not of our making,” Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America, told the Associated Press. “We’re fiduciaries for our members, for the game, for our mission and for our brand. And how do we best protect that? Our feeling was given the tragic events of Wednesday that we could no longer hold it at Bedminster. The damage could have been irreparable. The only real course of action was to leave.”"

The deal with Trump National was originally signed in 2014. The Trump organization, in a statement, said that the PGA of America was in the wrong.

“This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement,” the Trump group’s statement to the Associated Press said. “As an organization we have invested many, many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster.”

As for the PGA of America, they have a brand to protect.

"“Our decision wasn’t about speed and timing,” Waugh said to the Associated Press. “What matters most to our board and leadership is protecting our brand and reputation, and the ability for our members to lead the growth of the game, which they do through so many powerful programs in their communities.”"

This is not the first time the PGA of America has severed ties with the Trump organization. In 2015, the group canceled the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, which was scheduled to be played at Trump National in Los Angeles. That event was canceled due to Trump’s remarks regarding Mexican immigrants while making the announcement that he would run for President.

This is not a political post and people will most assuredly take sides because that’s what we do now in our country. But if you are the PGA of America, this is the right decision. If your number one event is played at a Trump course right now, all of the attention would be on Trump and about politics rather than about golf.

That’s the reason the PGA of America made the decision they made. And, politics aside, it’s the right call.