Trump on Mexico City event: 'Hope they have kidnapping insurance'
The PGA Tour is moving one of its signature events from the Trump Doral in Miami to Mexico City. Doral had hosted the WGC - Cadillac Championship for 54 years, but after Cadillac withdrew as a sponsor, the PGA Tour was unable to find a replacement.
The Tour informed tournament director Butch Buchholz on Tuesday night of the impending departure. Buchholz denied that the reason for the move was the many incendiary comments made by Trump Doral owner, and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump in recent months: "Cadillac was going to leave,” Buchholz told the Miami Herald. “It had nothing to do with Trump. They [are] changing their whole marketing strategy. The Tour had almost a year to find a replacement.”
Of course, Cadillac's departure and the inability to find a new sponsor are two different issues. Trump's rhetoric has already caused major corporations such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Google, and Wal-Mart to reassess or scale back their sponsorship of the Republican national convention. It's not a huge leap to assume that corporate sponsors are similarly uneasy about sponsoring a tournament with Trump's own property at its heart.
Trump himself took a parting shot at the PGA Tour's back on Sean Hannity's show on Tuesday night, as transcribed by the Miami Herald: “I mean, I just heard that the PGA Tour is taking their tournament out of Miami and moving it to Mexico as an example,” Trump said. “They’re taking it — it’s at Doral, it’s at — 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."
Earlier this year, he'd indicated that he would actually make more money if the PGA Tour moved its little tournament out of his way: "Look, it's very expensive for me to have the tournament there, because I have 100 percent occupancy," he said in March. "It costs me a lot of money. So if they want to move it, that's up to them. I think they would be foolish to want to move it, because it's the best course in Florida. It's the best tournament course in Florida, by far, and it's a big course; it's got tremendous history."
He's probably not wrong; rounds alone at Trump Doral run $495, to say nothing of the added revenue from guests rather than tournament officials staying on property.
Of course, while Trump may benefit from the tournament's departure, those with a few less millions to their name will not: "I am very disappointed to hear that the PGA Tour is leaving Miami-Dade County and the City of Doral," Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement. "Our community has hosted the tournament for the last half century. The PGA has been a great partner in Miami-Dade, making long-term pledges to the United Way and First Tee of South Florida. It is disappointing to learn that these charitable causes are now left without those valued contributions. What is equally disappointing is that the businesses in the City of Doral, and throughout our county, will no longer have the opportunity to take advantage of a world-class event, and the economic benefits it brings."
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
