Why PGA Tour made nice with Trump and returned to Doral

There's no avoiding Donald Trump at this weekend's Cadillac Championship. His name is on the golf course — isn't it always? And let's not forget the 15-foot golden statue of him right off the first tee.

His looming presence is also a big reason why the PGA Tour has been away from Trump National Doral for the past 10 years. The Tour chose to exit from its agreement with Doral and its Blue Monster Course, a place that had previously hosted a tournament for the past 53 years, after Trump made disparaging comments during his first presidential run.

The Cadillac Championship marks the first PGA Tour event to be held at one of Trump's properties since he began his political career. The president is still waiting for his Turnberry course in Scotland to host a prestigious British Open, and despite this being a limited field with only the top-ranked golfers getting invited to Doral, not every star on the PGA Tour is coming to Miami. Two-time reigning Masters champ Rory McIlroy is skipping to prepare for the PGA Championship in two weeks, as are world No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 9 Xander Schauffele and most recently Patrick Cantlay.

But nonetheless, the PGA Tour is back at Doral, even if it's no longer part of the "Florida swing." Why the change?

When did PGA Tour last play at Doral?

The PGA Tour has a long history on Doral's famous Blue Monster Course, notorious for being one of the toughest in the country. Doral hosted Tour events every year from 1962 to 2016. According to the Tour, it's one of only nine current venues that have been on the calendar for at least 50 years, joining the likes of Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines and, of course, Augusta National.

In 2007, the Doral tournament's place on the schedule switched to the World Golf Championships limited-field event. The course hosted the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March annually until 2016. The Trump Organization bought Doral Country Club out of bankruptcy in 2012 and renamed it Trump National Doral Miami.

Why did PGA Tour leave Doral?

In August 2016, when Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee for president, the PGA Tour announced it was moving the WGC event from Doral to Mexico City. Cadillac's deal as title sponsor for the event had expired after 2015, and despite the Tour re-upping its commitment to Doral in 2013 for 10 years, the deal included an out in case a title sponsor could not be secured.

The tournament's move to specifically Mexico seemed like a pointed strike against Trump, since one of his first points of emphasis on the campaign trail was referring to Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals in his push to build a wall across the Mexican border. He expanded that talk to Muslims, women and more in the months since, leading many corporate brands to distance themselves from the candidate.

After Trump said he would move to ban Muslims from entering the country in December 2015, the PGA Tour hinted that it would be leaving Doral, releasing a statement saying in part, "Mr. Trump’s comments are inconsistent with our strong commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment in the game of golf." Trump didn't let up on that rhetoric when the decision to leave for Mexico came down, saying on Fox News, "I hope they have kidnapping insurance."

Why did PGA Tour return to Trump National Doral?

When the 2026 PGA Tour schedule was unveiled in August, Doral was back hosting one of nine limited-field Signature Events, marking the course's return to the Tour for the first time in 10 years. Trump remains unpopular for myriad reasons, among them the ongoing war in Iran that's driving up oil and gas prices, but he is in his second stint as president and has a virulent fanbase in South Florida.

Most importantly to the PGA Tour, Trump has shown his course can still host successful golf events. The Saudi-backed LIV Golf League has hosted tournaments at Doral since 2022 with Trump participating in pro-ams between his presidencies. The two tours have been investigating a merger for more than a year with Trump's involvement, even though those talks appear to be dead. When LIV left Doral off its 2026 calendar, the PGA Tour stepped in.

How to watch Cadillac Championship

• Dates: April 30-May 3
• First tee: 8:40 a.m. ET
• TV channel: Golf Channel (all four rounds) | CBS (third and final rounds)
• Streaming: ESPN app (Select plan) | Sling | Fubo (free trial)

The first two rounds of the 2026 Cadillac broadcast nationally on Golf Channel. Coverage of Friday's second round starts at 3 p.m. Coverage of the third and final rounds start at noon on Golf Channel (with streaming available on Sling) before switching to CBS (with streaming available on Fubo) at 3 p.m. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available on ESPN+.

Contributing: Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post