rump National Golf Course in Bedminster
(October 13, 2016)–What will it take? What has to finally happen for the United States Golf Association to wake up and move one of its signature events — the U.S. Women’s Open — from Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster?
In case you are not a golf fan, yes, you are reading that correctly. The USGA still plans to hold the premier golf tournament for women at a club owned by Donald Trump — even now, even after that vile recording surfaced about him bragging that he gropes women, even after a slew of assault allegations have been reported.
I called a USGA spokesman on Tuesday morning to see what, exactly, the Far Hills-based organization is thinking. The call, not surprisingly, still hasn’t been returned 48 hours later.
Thinking? If USGA officials had been thinking at all, they would have moved this event the moment Trump declared his candidacy and made his offensive comments about Mexicans. They joined golf’s other governing bodies then in a tepid anti-Trump statement.
“While the LPGA, PGA of America, PGA Tour and USGA do not usually comment on Presidential politics,” the July statement read, “Mr. Trump’s comments are inconsistent with our strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment in the game of golf.”
Look at those four key words again: An inclusive and welcoming environment. They will be laughably hollow if the USGA goes through with holding the Women’s Open at a course owned by a man who said, because he is a celebrity, he can “grab (women) by the p—y. You can do anything.”
The USGA likely will fall back on logistics now, that moving a major golf tournament is impossible just nine months before it is scheduled to begin on July 13. Without question, it won’t be easy. There is a reason, after all, the sites of these major events are chosen so far in advance.
Read more at NJ.com
