Corrigan On Trump: Golf Needs To Protect Its Participants

I'm a little behind on reading so I apologize for just now sharing James Corrigan's six-day-old Telegraph assessment of golf's Donald Trump issue.

This was a strong point in a column that Peter Dawson won't be email blasting to his pals.

But then, Trump so scandalously turned Turnberry - beautiful Turnberry - into part of his election trail at the Women’s British Open in August and the penny dropped. Seeing Lizette Salas, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, being mobbed by news crews immediately after her first round was one of the most pitiful scenes I’ve seen in sport.

Salas was there to compete, not to defend her heritage against Trump, but as soon as his helicopter whirred into view for all the publicity shots, it was inevitable she would be hounded.

Never mind its image, golf first of all needs to protect its participants. It is a sport which claims to be global, for goodness sake, and which is making huge inroads in Asia including in the UAE where Trump unashamedly cosies up to the Sheikhs with his ongoing Dubai development.

That is Trump’s integrity, right there.

Sandy Jones, head of the PGA in the UK, can be added to the list of recent golf organizatinos suggesting in some way that golf will be hurt by ties to Trump. From a BBC report.

"The controversy is not a positive thing for golf," he told BBC Scotland.

"Donald has built some great golf courses and has two in Scotland, in Aberdeen and at Turnberry.

"I'd prefer to see less controversy around the game and sadly Donald is producing it through his political motive, not through his golfing ones. They are bound to be linked, there is no getting away from that."