A major golf tournament traditionally held at Donald Trump’s national golf course in Miami will instead be held at a course in Mexico City next year, prompting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to suggest the Professional Golfers’ Association acquire “kidnapping insurance.”
“It is a sad day for Miami, the United States and the game of golf, to have the PGA Tour consider moving the World Golf Championships, which has been hosted in Miami for the last 55 years, to Mexico,” the Trump Organization said in a statement.
“No different than Nabisco, Carrier and so many other American companies, the PGA Tour has put profit ahead of thousands of American jobs, millions of dollars in revenue for local communities and charities and the enjoyment of hundreds of thousands of fans who make the tournament an annual tradition,” the statement continued.
Just 24 hours prior, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “They’re moving it to Mexico City, which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance.”
The move comes after Cadillac was replaced by the Mexican-based conglomerate Grupo Salinas as the main sponsor of the event. Retired professional Tennis player Butch Buchholz, who was chairman of the event, told the Miami-Herald on Wednesday no other sponsor could be found.
“If you don’t have a sponsor, what can you do?” he said.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem added during a press conference Wednesday afternoon that the move was “not a political decision,” but seconds later he admitted Trump’s presidential bid “might have contributed.”
“I know everbody’s talking about politics but it’s actually not that in my view,” Finchem told reporters. “Donald Trump is a brand – a big brand – and when you’re asking a company to share that brand… it’s a difficult conversation.”
He then added, “The politics might have contributed some since [Trump] has been running – and he knows that.”
The PGA previously took issue with Trump’s comments about illegal immigrants from Mexico during his presidential announcement speech last June, claiming his views were “inconsistent with [the PGA’s] strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment in the game of golf.”
A press conference about the change of venue is slated to be held at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
