The R&A "dealt a blow" to Donald Trump by confirming the Open Championship will not be held at Turnberry before '22, according to Ewan Murray of the London GUARDIAN. Trump's views on Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and Muslims "have triggered a dilemma for a sport which is seeking to be as inclusive as possible." The R&A will not specifically cite the Republican party's potential presidential candidate's "controversial statements as pivotal and seem anxious to kick the issue into the long grass, but the inference is clear." R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said, "We are in advance negotiations and discussions around 2020 and 2021, one of which will be in England because we like to get a balance between English courses and Scottish courses. At no point during those discussions has Turnberry been part of that. So that's where we are. And 2022 and beyond it is something we don't have to think about for a few years" (GUARDIAN, 2/22). In London, James Corrigan reported it is believed that Royal St. George's in Kent will stage the 2020 Open, "leaving St. Andrews to host the 150th Championship the following year." The Trump saga "overshadowed the R&A's announcement that it will proceed to merge with the Ladies' Golf Union from next season" (TELEGRAPH, 2/23).
PROBLEM FOR GOLF: In London, Iain Carter wrote whether or not Trump becomes the next U.S. president, "he provides an ongoing problem for golf." On Monday, Slumbers was "peppered with more questions regarding Trump and Turnberry's future on the Open rota." Again he "played the kind of straight bat that is currently so craved by the top order in English cricket." Slumbers "would not be drawn on the subject." He is "understandably more guarded than his predecessor Peter Dawson," who marked his departure from St. Andrews last September by "dismissing the notion that Turnberry's Open status could be affected." It is becoming a "difficult situation for his successor." If he took Dawson's line, the new CEO "would be open to criticism that golf's more politically correct outlook is a mere sham." Equally, if he said that the Open should have nothing to do with Trump, "he would deprive the championship of one of its finest venues." It is fair to assume playing host to the Open was "one of the attractions for Trump when he bought the place." And were he to pull out, "what would that mean for the Ayrshire economy?" Slumbers insists the "current noise surrounding Trump is not problematic." Slumbers: "I wouldn't say it is making life difficult. I'm pretty clear about what I believe and I'm pretty clear about where we are going and we are pretty clear about where we are going to be until 2021" (BBC, 2/23).
