PGA Tour Leans on Tradition as Trump Invitation Overshadows Presidents Cup Selections

The Presidents Cup Selection Special — the televised announcement of the captain’s picks for the United States and international teams that will compete in the upcoming 2026 President’s Cup at Medinah Country Club — was supposed to provide the headline of the day.But the national broadcast was overshadowed hours before on social media by the news that President Trump has accepted an invitation to serve as honorary chairman of the biennial event and plans to attend the competition scheduled from Sept. 24 to 27.“It is my honor to accept being Honorary Chairman of the upcoming Presidents Cup,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I look forward to being there and greeting all these fantastic athletes on both teams! Thank you for your attention to this matter. See you in Chicago!”Long before U.S. captain, Brandt Snedeker, and the International Team captain, Geoff Ogilvy, made their at-large selections in hopes of building excitement for the event, multiple fans expressed frustration over Mr. Trump’s involvement.“If President Trump is going to be involved in this, I will not be watching it. You can guarantee that,” one fan wrote on X.Another fan added, “He cursed the U.S. team at the Ryder Cup and now he’s going to do the same at the Presidents Cup. I’ll be boycotting it.” Others echoed similar sentiments, with one writing simply, “No chance I’m watching this now.”Named “the Presidents Cup,” the event has historically been attended by U.S. presidents and international leaders, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Gerald Ford, who all served as honorary chairmen.This will mark the second time Mr. Trump had been the honorary chairman, fulfilling the role in 2017 when the biennial event was hosted at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey. There, the president took part in the trophy presentation. He also attended the 2024 Presidents Cup in Montreal and last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.The chief executive officer of the PGA Tour, Brian Rolapp, confirmed Mr. Trump’s invitation, framing it as part of the tournament’s tradition. “The Presidents Cup has a proud tradition of engaging world leaders from across the globe and across political lines,” Mr. Rolapp said in a statement. “President Trump’s involvement continues that legacy. His participation will help elevate the event on the international stage while furthering our mission of bringing people together through the game of golf.”Backlash over his attendance at the final major golf event of the season comes at time when the president’s plan to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington D.C. is being opposed by people who currently use the park. A multi-million dollar renovation of the property was scheduled to begin Tuesday, pursuing Mr. Trump’s vision of creating a championship level high-end golf course. “I hope it remains as publicly accessible as possible,” local resident Chris Fisher told DC News Now. “I think that’s what makes it such a special area is that it’s really for all of D.C., not just D.C. folks out in Maryland, in Virginia.”Mr. Trump’s golf etiquette has also been the subject of online chatter. After the 80-year-old claimed both the club championship and senior club championship at Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster last month, questions were raised about his honesty on the course.A decade ago, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya said Mr. Trump repeatedly improved his ball position during their private round. Longtime sports journalist and author Rick Rielly wrote a book about Mr. Trump’s alleged cheating, remarking “When it comes to cheating, he’s an 11 on a scale of one to 10.”Others, like golf legend Ernie Els, marvel at Mr. Trump’s ability to play the game at his age. “He hits the ball better than I’ve seen an . . . I mean, he’s 75,” Mr. Els said after playing with Mr. Trump in 2022. “He can really strike the ball. He makes good contact. He’s got a good swing.”Mr. Trump clearly has the support of the PGA Tour which elevated the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral as a Championship Series tournament starting in 2028. He called Mr. Rolapp the tour’s “great new commissioner” and declared both teams are “loaded” before knowing the full rosters.The squads will consist of 12 players from the United States and 12 from around the world, except Europe. The six Americans who qualified automatically through points standings are Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, and Collin Morikowa.Mr. Snedeker added six additional picks: Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Jacob Bridgeman, and Jackson Koivum, the 21-year-old rookie who captured the 3M Tournament, in his third professional start.“I think he brings a lot to the team room,” Mr. Snedeker said on the Golf Channel of Mr. Koivum. “I know what this guy is capable of and I know what he brings to us. Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling. This is my gut feeling.”The international qualifiers are Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim of South Korea, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Ryan Fox from New Zealand, and Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott of Australia. They’ll be joined by Canada’s Corey Conners and Nick Taylor, Nico Echavarria of Colombia, Sungjae Im of South Korea, Ryo Hisatune of Japan, and Christiaan Bezvidenhout of South Africa.The U.S. Team has won 13 of the previous 15 Presidents Cups. The International Team won in 1998 at Melbourne and the two sides tied 17-17 in 2003 in South Africa.

PGA Tour Leans on Tradition as Trump Invitation Overshadows Presidents Cup Selections

PGA Tour Leans on Tradition as Trump Invitation Overshadows Presidents Cup Selections

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