DUBLIN, OHIO—Two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North expressed bewilderment at the PGA tour’s decision to leave Trump’s Doral resort course near Miami, Florida, for Mexico City next year.
“I’m confused,” North told Breitbart Sports at the Memorial Tournament. “It’s [Doral], a historic venue that has such a great tradition.”
When asked at Muirfield Village if the change could have been due to Donald Trump’s political positions on immigration, North demurred. “You’ll have to ask Commissioner Tim Finchem,” he explained.
Finchem on Wednesday said profits and not politics motivated the move.
“Some of the reaction revolves around the feeling that this is a political exercise and it is not that in any way, shape or form,” the PGA Tour Commissioner said. “It is a sponsorship issue. We value dollars for our players. So we make decisions that are in the best interests of our players.”
North, now an ESPN golf analyst, didn’t seem too optimistic about the future of the tournament after it heads to Mexico. On whether the WGC Championship would lose some cache when it heads south of the border, he quickly replied: “Absolutely, you have to wonder about the field. Will the guys go? Of course, it could turn out well. But who knows?”
Reactions by players have been muted as the news hit earlier this week about the move to Mexico City and away from the storied Doral course now associated with Trump. Although players overwhelmingly lean Republican, nobody has yet fully condemned the decision.