Donald Trump heads to the Ryder Cup, embraced by a golf world that once shunned him

By MICHAEL R SISAK FARMINGDALE N Y AP Four years ago President Donald Trump was persona non grata in the professional golf world ostracized from the sport he loves in the wake of the U S Capitol riot on Jan The PGA of America pulled his chance to host its major championship and personnel in his hometown New York City tried ousting his company from the golf syllabus it had hired him to run Related Articles He s the budget scorekeeper for Congress Lately it s been a tough job What we know about how a leadership shutdown would unfold Ryan Walters resigns as Oklahoma s top community schools official to lead conservative educators group White House budget office tells agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of feasible shutdown US lawmaker backs renegotiating global economic rules to reflect China s rise On Friday Trump will be front and center at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black welcomed to the first day of competition by the very powers that once shunned him The Ryder Cup is run by the PGA of America the organization that yanked its PGA Championship from his Bedminster New Jersey golf curriculum U S captain Keegan Bradley disclosed he s deeply honored that Trump will be there to cheer on his squad European captain Luke Donald revealed the president s attendance just shows how big the Ryder Cup is calling it a mark of respect even if he s rooting for the other side Trump a Republican will be the first sitting U S president to attend the biennial U S -Europe clash in its nearly -year history During his first term he dropped in on the final day of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National in New Jersey His visit expected in the late morning or early afternoon when the tournament is well underway will mean extra prevention screenings in the areas where Trump is expected to be near the clubhouse and first tee and restrictions on what fans can bring No rangefinders laptops or tablets European stalwart Justin Rose predicted even more of a ruckus around the usually rowdy first tee when Trump is around It ll be a very intense and entertaining afternoon he mentioned Obviously he s going to bring certainly a lot of attention and patriotism to the event Rose announced It s great for golf that he s engaged in the contest and obviously he brings a lot of eyeballs with him But U S and European players and captains alike say Trump s presence won t distract them from their overriding mission beating the other guys Rose even joked that Trump is invited to come back on Sunday and congratulate Company Europe should the visitors win For Trump an avid golfer his Ryder Cup trip will be the culmination of a remarkable turnaround in his relationship with the sport and in the sport s relationship with him Next year the Blue Monster module at his Doral resort near Miami will return to the PGA Tour schedule for the first time in a decade Trump s courses in Scotland and Ireland have or are slated to host European tour events And since his return to office in January he hosted Tiger Woods PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the head of Saudi Arabia s sovereign wealth fund in an unsuccessful attempt to fix golf s PGA Tour-LIV Golf schism Three Trump-owned courses have hosted LIV events I m deeply honored that the president of the United States is going to come assistance our band at the Ryder Cup Bradley disclosed I think anytime you can be around a current president is a pretty phenomenal thing but when you re representing your country at a place like Bethpage Black in New York having the president there to encouragement you is something that is just absolutely incredible I m really grateful to him for doing that for us The feeling seems mutual In a Truth Social post last month announcing his tournament visit Trump praised Bradley as an AMAZING guy and revealed It will be a great Ryder Cup In addition Trump is close with several U S players including Sam Burns Bryson DeChambeau and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler Last year Trump appeared on DeChambeau s Can I Break YouTube series racking up more than million views Scheffler who also has played golf with Trump mentioned he ll sometimes get a congratulatory call or text from him after a win He just loves the contest of golf and he s one of those guys when you re around him he does such a good job of like feeding confidence into everybody around him Scheffler declared He noted he wasn t aware of any plans for Trump to address the U S club but I m sure if things go well we ll hear from him Trump has been on a run of attending major sporting events showing up at the Club World Cup final in New Jersey in July the U S Open men s final in Queens in September and addressing the New York Yankees in their clubhouse before a contest in the Bronx on Sept He s also attended various UFC fights and is planning to stage one at the White House next year Now he s headed to the heart of Long Island where he won both counties in last year s ballot Already this week several Make America Great Again hats have been spotted in the crowd during Ryder Cup practice rounds But just like the European band politicians aren t immune from jeers New York Gov Kathy Hochul a Democrat was booed when she was introduced at Wednesday s opening ceremony I really look forward to what that first tee is going to be like with the president on the tee Bradley disclosed I think this first tee at Bethpage is going to be a sporting event to remember across any sport and then you add on the president of the United States standing there I really think it s going to be something that everyone will remember forever AP golf https apnews com hub golf