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Dec 13th, 2015
'Dump The Trump' Campaign Continues...
Turnberry to lose the Open + Aberdeen won't get Scottish
Words: Tim Southwell Photography: Getty Images
Things are going from bad to worse for Donald Trump amid reports that the R&A are going to ditch Turnberry from the Open rota following the U.S. Republican candidate's recent rants about Muslims, Mexicans and just about anyone else he can possibly offend...
"Today I will mostly be offending frogs..."
As the saying goes: Donald Trump has two hopes of achieving his dream of handing over the claret jug at the Open at Turnberry – Bob Hope and no hope.
This, after the R&A privately joined the growing bandwagon of governing bodies to remove Donald Trump's name tag from golf's top table. The R&A have reportedly decided that Trump's reputation has become so toxic that the newly renamed Trump Turnberry can no longer host the game’s most prestigious tournament.
Outrageous remarks made by Trump about Muslims, Mexicans, Chinese and women, among others have turned him into a pariah in the global game, as the various governing bodies foresee sponsors, players and fans walking away from a sport that would tolerate xenophobia, racism, homphobia and just about any other phobia currently doing the rounds in Trump's meccano-like brain.
Greg Norman on route to winning the Open at Turnberry in 1986
The R&A's new boss, Martin Slumbers, had been expected to endorse Turnberry as a venue for the 2020 Open. But in June Mr Trump called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and called for a wall to be built along the United States-Mexico border. The comment, according to R&A insiders, raised eyebrows about what might come next.
One member told The Independent on Sunday: “Those who forecast worse would come, including warnings from our American cousins, have been proved correct.”
Tom Watson thrilling the world at Turnberry in 2009
The worst (at that point at least) came when the Republican frontrunner made comments about “cunning Chinese”, denigrated the war record of Senator John McCain, and made a jibe about menstruation towards a female television news presenter.
Then, just when you thought he'd need a lie down and a spell in the corner thinking about what he'd done, he called for a “total and complete shutdown” of US borders to all Muslims, until, as he claimed, “our country’s representatives figure out what’s going on”.
It seems that latest rant has pushed the R&A over the edge and Turnberry, not with Trump involved in any case, will not be hosting the Open any time soon.
Trump's ambition of hosting the Scottish Open at his Trump International Aberdeen course is now also in serious doubt. Middle East sovereign wealth is a key element of European Tour golf sponsorship. Leading sponsors include DP World, the Dubai-based marine terminal company chaired by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
Following his remarks about Muslims, Trump leads current polls of Republican voters with 35%, double his nearest rival, Ted Cruz.
Artist's impression of Turnberry in the future...
Put your feet up, forget about bloody Trump and watch this brilliant film about the 1977 Open at Turnberry
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