WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump blasted the PGA Tour on Wednesday for plans to move a major golf tournament from Trump’s Doral course in Miami to Mexico.
Trump said in a statement the move was akin to decisions by some U.S. companies to move jobs to Mexico, which has been a frequent refrain of his presidential campaign.
“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,” he said. “This decision only further embodies the very reason I am running for president of the United States.”
A variety of reports said the event will move from Trump National Doral to Club de Golf Chapultepec near Mexico City and will be sponsored by the Grupo Salinas conglomerate.
“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,” Trump said.
The Miami Herald said the PGA Tour had been unable to find a title sponsor for the Doral event after a decision by Cadillac to end its sponsorship. The PGA Tour was to announce the move on Wednesday afternoon.
The Doral tournament, which played in early March, is one of the major pro golf events of the year, drawing top golfers from around the world.
Trump purchased the golf resort in 2012 and led a multimillion-dollar renovation of its Blue Monster course where the PGA tournament has been played.
The news about Doral surfaced on the same day that Trump announced he will step away from the campaign trail later this month to travel to Scotland for the reopening of the Turnberry golf resort, which he bought in 2014.
STEVE HOLLAND