Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in 2016 he hoped the PGA Tour had “kidnapping insurance” after its tournament at Trump’s property in Doral was moved to Mexico City.
Then, after labeling Mexican immigrants “drug dealers, criminals, rapists,” and adding the golf world knows “I’m right,” the Tour was among several golf entities issuing a statement condemning Trump’s comments as “inconsistent with our strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment in the game of golf.”
In 2022, Trump criticized the PGA Tour, calling it “disloyal” and urging its players to “take the money now” and join LIV Golf. He said the Tour was “stupid.”
And, yet, in 2026 the PGA Tour came crawling back.
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The PGA Tour is returning to Trump National Doral a decade after leaving the same venue. And it returns with the same title sponsor and the same name (though a completely different format): The Cadillac Championship.
The tournament starts April 30.
But this time Trump, who has owned the course west of Miami since 2012, is president, marking the first PGA Tour event played at one of his properties while he is a resident of the White House.
The Tour’s announcement it was returning to Doral came after it learned LIV, the Saudi-backed golf tour whose future now is in jeopardy, was not returning to the venue.
LIV has played at three Trump-owned properties during its five years, including each of its first four seasons at Doral. But when the league announced it was returning only to Trump’s courses in Bedminster and Virginia in 2026, the PGA Tour agreed to return to Doral.
And not just for any event, but for one of eight signature events that come with a $20 million purse.
Worse, this decision could impact whether or not the Tour hosts a significant tournament in Palm Beach County. Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is pushing a less-is-more philosophy, trimming the schedule while hoping to have more events in larger markets.
If Doral makes the cut as one of Rolapp’s 16 signature events and the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches is reduced to a tier 2 event with an even weaker field than it recently has seen, choosing to return to a course 85 miles away from Palm Beach Gardens at Trump’s asking certainly will play a big part in that decision.
Donald Trump has history with PGA Tour at his course in Doral
Trump’s relationship with the PGA Tour, and golf in general, has been complicated. Each time he has felt unwanted or overlooked — not the center of attention — he lashes out and slings insults.
The PGA Tour had a wonderful 54-year history at Doral before pulling out following the 2016 Cadillac Championship, a World Golf Championships event.
Cadillac’s title sponsorship with the event ended after 2016, making it a good time for a clean break. While it is true Cadillac was headed in a different direction with its marketing strategy, thus ending a longtime relationship, reports surfaced the company also became tired of Trump making himself a focus of its event.
When the Tour could not secure a title sponsor to replace Cadillac, it decided to pull out of Doral. The 2016 tournament was won by Adam Scott.
A spurned Trump imploded when learning the event was moving to Mexico City. His rant on Fox News forced the PGA Tour to expedite its announcement.
“I just heard that the PGA Tour is taking their tournament out of Miami and moving it to Mexico,” Trump said. “It’s at Doral … they used one of my places. They’re moving their tournament; it’s the Cadillac World Golf Championship. And Cadillac’s been a great sponsor, but they’re moving it to Mexico.
“They’re moving it to Mexico City, which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance.”
Rory McIlroy made fun of tournament moving to Mexico
Replacing a Trump-hosted tournament with one in Mexico became fodder for everyone, including Rory McIlroy.
“It’s quite ironic that we’re going to Mexico after being at Doral,” McIlroy, who lives in Jupiter, said at the time. “We just jump over the wall,” a reference to Trump’s campaign promise to build a wall that would prevent immigrants from entering the U.S.
McIlroy, the world No. 2 who won his second consecutive Masters in April, is skipping Doral as part of his preparation for the season’s second major. The PGA Championship will be May 14-17 at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia.
The creation of LIV Golf came at a good time for Trump to highlight his feud with the PGA Tour and praise Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf.
Trump immediately jumped into bed with LIV. Hosting events, playing in more than one pro-am, including before the 2022 LIV event at Doral, which came between his two terms as president.
Trump’s group included his son, Eric, and granddaughter, Kai, who played an LPGA Tour event in November on a sponsor invite and will be part of the University of Miami’s women’s golf team in the fall. Trump played nine holes each with Sergio Garcia and Jupiter’s Brooks Koepka during the LIV pro-am.
Trump spent the day praising his course and his game, and taking shots at Joe Biden, who beat him in the 2020 election.
“I hit it straight, I hit good drives, I hit good irons,” Trump said. At one point he approached a group of reporters. “How’s Trump’s golf game?” he said talking about himself. “Pretty good, right?”
He even promised those who did not join LIV Golf and stayed loyal to the PGA Tour would regret the decision.
How has that turned out?
The PGA Tour has emerged in this golf civil war and will continue to grow as the sport’s most powerful league.
As much as Trump boasted, even as late as 2025, he could bring the two leagues together, he failed. So it’s benefitted him to flip-flop and get back into the PGA Tour’s good graces.
And the Tour made it easy.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Donald Trump ripped PGA Tour but it has returned to his Doral course
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
