Golf-Trump rebuked by PGA of America, R&A after Capitol riot

Five people died in the rampage. On Monday, the PGA of America said that it was stripping the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster of the 2022 PGA Championship following a vote by its board of directors.

Donald Trump was handed a stinging rebuke by the world of professional golf on Monday, with the PGA of America and the R&A both announcing they would shun two courses owned by the President in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump exhorted thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on Wednesday as Congress met to certify his defeat to Joe Biden, prompting chaos in which crowds breached the building and forced the evacuation of both chambers. Five people died in the rampage.

On Monday, the PGA of America said that it was stripping the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster of the 2022 PGA Championship following a vote by its board of directors. "It has become clear that conducting the PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the PGA of America brand," PGA of America President Jim Richerson said in a video announcing the decision.

Hours later, golf governing body the R&A followed suit, saying it would not stage any championships at the Trump-owned Turnberry golf course for the foreseeable future. "We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances," R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said in a statement https://www.randa.org/en/news/2021/01/turnberry-statement.

Turnberry, in South Ayrshire, Scotland, has hosted the Open Championship on four previous occasions, most recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson in a playoff. Trump bought the property in 2014. A representative for the Trump Organization said they were "incredibly disappointed" with the PGA of America's decision.

"We have had a beautiful partnership with the PGA of America ... This is a breach of a binding contract and they have no right to terminate the agreement," the representative said. "As an organisation we have invested many millions of dollars in the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster.

"We will continue to promote the game of golf on every level and remain focused on operating the finest golf courses anywhere in the world."