Doral eyes PGA comeback as tour weighs return to Trump-owned course

Miami Herald

4 days ago

After a nearly decade-long absence, including its namesake's stint as President of the United States, Trump National Doral Golf Club is expected to return to the PGA Tour circuit in 2026.
The club, which is owned by the Trump Organization, is expected to host the new tournament during the week of April 27-May 3, in between the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the signature Truist Championship, per the Sports Business Journal.
The resort, purchased by the Trump Organization in 2012 for a reported $150 million, previously hosted a PGA Tour event for more than five decades.
From 1962 through 2016, the 'Blue Monster' course at Trump National was a mainstay on the Tour calendar, drawing top-ranked players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott and serving as the longtime site of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
But that run ended in 2017, when the event was relocated to Mexico City amid mounting controversy surrounding Donald Trump's first presidential campaign. At the time, multiple golf governing bodies, including the PGA Tour, sought to distance themselves from the politically polarizing figure, who had long been present on the golf scene.
'We [the PGA Tour and Trump] have a relationship and he happens to be running for president, but we are not involved in presidential politics,' Timothy W. Finchem, the former PGA Commissioner, said in 2016.
Since then, Trump National Doral has remained active in professional golf through its association with the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf, which has staged events there annually since launching in 2022.
Doral's absence from LIV's recently-released 2026 schedule, however, has fueled speculation that the property could be making room for the PGA Tour's return.
Further adding intrigue, Donald Trump has reportedly met in recent months with key figures involved in ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, including current PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and golf icon Tiger Woods, who has taken an advisory role in merger discussions.
While no formal agreement between the leagues has been finalized, the decision to bring a PGA Tour event back to a Trump-owned venue in Miami, one just under fifty miles from his infamous 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration facility, may be viewed as a strategic move, or even a political gesture, amid golf's shifting power dynamics.
Should the 2026 event at Doral come to fruition, it would mark a notable turning point for both the PGA Tour and the Trump Organization.
For Trump, it would represent a re-entry into the PGA's good graces after years of exclusion. For the Tour, it signals a possible softening of its stance toward Trump-branded properties, which it has largely avoided since the now-President's entrance into politics.
Still, many details surrounding the proposed tournament remain uncertain.
The title sponsor and operational partner have yet to be announced, and the PGA Tour has not formally confirmed Doral's addition to the 2026 schedule.
But with the week between the Zurich Classic and Truist Championship currently unclaimed, and with five industry sources pointing to Doral as the likely host, the tournament's return appears increasingly likely.