Donald Trump, who has a handicap of 2.8 according to Golf Digest, attended and participated in Thursday’s pro-am, where sponsors, celebrities and players test the course before competition. Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, he played with his son Eric as well as American stars Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.
Afterwards, the former President of the United States, owner of the course in Bedminster, New Jersey, where this week’s LIV Tour event is being played, spoke to the media.
— You (LIV tour) really have the world’s best players, many of the best players, and soon you will probably have all of them, said the 76-year-old and continued:
— Their (the players’) salaries will increase a lot. As you know, for a long time the PGA has not been loved by many players. Now they have got an alternative and no one could have guessed that there would be such a gold rush.
On Friday, Swedish star Henrik Stenson debuts on the LIV tour. Last week he was stripped of his role as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain due to his choice to switch from playing on the PGA and European tours to the LIV tour.
The LIV tour is financed by Saudi Arabia’s state investment fund PIF and the total prize pool is 255 million dollars (roughly 2.5 billion Swedish kronor). Saudi Arabia is accused of trying to wash away its reputation in terms of, for example, human rights through sports, so-called sportswashing.