There’s no word on when or where the event might be reinstated.
The “J6 Awards Gala” by the nonprofit Stand in the Gap was scheduled for Thursday at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. According to the event listing online, the event was scheduled to raise money and pay tribute to “all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice.”
The event that was going to honor the Capitol riot defendants was scheduled to take place Sept. 5 before the event’s website announced the postponement. A future date, time and location for the event have not been announced.
(Donald) Trump was invited to the event, but it was not confirmed that he would make an appearance. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was another invited speaker, as were UFC fighter Colby Covington and social media influencer Bryce Hall.
General admission tickets were going for $1,500 and a single VIP ticket for $2,500, said the invitation on the fundraiser site. Bundle tickets for a table of 12 were available for $30,000 and $50,000.
Reaction was harsh
Several people online had reacted to the event in disbelief, including former Mike Pence advisor Olivia Troye.
“Celebrating the people who endangered the life of (Trump’s) own Vice President & glorifying violence is a dangerous assault on our democracy & a disgraceful rewriting of history,” Troye, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, wrote on X. “We must all stand together against him.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., avoided weighing in on whether Trump should have attended the event had it happened, but condemned the rioters. The golf course, owned by the Trump organization, housed LIV Golf events in both 2022 and 2023.
“I have no sympathy for those who broke into the Capitol, destroyed the place and hurt police officers,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. When pressed on whether Trump should allow the event to happen, Graham responded “I’ll leave it up to him as to what causes to support.”
“Most Americans believe the January 6 rioters who violently attacked police officers and tried to overthrow an election belong in jail,” Harris-Walz spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told USA Today, calling the event “a slap in the face to every police officer who defended our Capitol in its darkest hour and every American who believes in the rule of law.”
What happened on Jan. 6?
On Jan. 6, 2021, a large group of demonstrators who aligned themselves as Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in the process of confirming the 2020 presidential election results.
Investigations into the riots led to charges against more than 1,424 people as of May 2024, a Justice Department release said.
About 140 police officers were assaulted during the insurrection, the release said. One officer, Brian Sicknick of South River, New Jersey, died after being sprayed with chemicals by attackers and suffering two strokes in the aftermath. Four more officers died by suicide in the weeks after the attack.
Four attackers also died, including Ashli Babbitt, 35, an Air Force veteran who was shot to death by police while trying to break through a door to a secure area and who has since become something of a martyr to Trump supporters.
The riots led to a second impeachment of Trump. After the insurrection, the former president was indicted in a criminal federal case that accused him of trying to overturn the election.
Kinsey Crowley of USA Today contributed to this report.
Aberg should be able to hit golf balls 3-4 weeks after his procedure.
Ludvig Aberg has offseason plans.
The 24-year-old Swedish sensation, who is ranked fifth in the world, is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee this week. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis first reported the news.
Aberg, who finished 16th in the Tour Championship on Sunday, first complained about the knee injury in May when he withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship.
According to Lewis’s social media post, Aberg should be able to hit golf balls 3-4 weeks after his procedure. He likely will play this fall on a limited basis.
Aberg finished second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Masters in April, his first major, and the BMW Championship among eight top-10 finishes this season.
There’s nothing as humbling as flipping through your pocket, looking for a ball mark.
There’s nothing as humbling as flipping through your pocket, looking for a ball mark while others are waiting. or a tee while owning the tee box.
The company Lost Wedge has produced a convenient way to hold golf tees and ball marks, eliminating the need to carry them in your pockets. It can be attached to the brim of a hat or waistline, and is designed not to drop tees. The Magnetic Clip Duo is a new addition, featuring a patent-pending underside magnet and an 18-millimeter ball marker.
Founder and CEO Shane Wieters’ talked with Golfweek during the recent PGA of America’s 2025 Merchandise Summit in Frisco, Texas.
Mysterious group says it was behind plans to add golf to a treasured Florida State Park.
A mysterious foundation called Tuskegee Dunes, whose Florida lobbyists include a former secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, says it is behind the controversial proposed golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park – and that it is now pulling the plug on the plan.
A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed late Sunday that the foundation withdrew its application for the golf course proposal.
The Delaware-registered foundation said in a statement sent to The Palm Beach Post late Friday that the golf courses and other facilities would have told the “inspirational story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American military pilots and airmen who fought in World War II.”
But facing extreme opposition from park fans, lawmakers and environmental organizations, it backpedaled on the project Sunday, sending a note to media representatives and through political commentator Daniel Bongino that it was no longer pursuing the proposal.
“Serving God and Country is our daily goal,” said the statement, which Bongino posted on Facebook. “That was the spirit for the idea to bring world class public golf to south east Florida … We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location. We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
It was the latest twist in a saga that began with documents being leaked to environmentalists a week ago showing plans for the installation of three public golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson as part of the state’s 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative.
The fervor of discontent that followed led to the state postponing public meetings that were scheduled for Tuesday, and a multitude of politicians decrying what many said they knew nothing about. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, said he couldn’t find anyone with knowledge of the courses and will use Florida’s Sunshine Law to get more information on the “proposed plan to bulldoze Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
“Our community deserves answers,” Mast said Saturday.
A map released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows the proposed areas of Jonathan Dickinson State Park that were considered for conversion into golf courses. (Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
But Sunday’s statement from Tuskegee Dunes Foundation about pulling out of the project still leaves questions. Mast reposted the statement to his Facebook page, but the lack of comment from any state agency or online footprint by Tuskegee Dunes has left some to question the veracity of the claim and whether the post by Bongino is from a counterfeit account.
Tequesta resident Jessica Namath, who is spearheading the fight against the golf courses, said on social media the opposition must continue until there is confirmation from DEP that the plan is kaput. “If the state agency decides at the last minute to not keep Jonathan Dickinson State Park in the mix we need to pivot to supporting the other Florida State Parks,” Namath said.
“Everyone’s decided we need to see something official,” Namath told The Palm Beach Post on Sunday. “We have a lot of questions. Why is (Bongino) the one sending this out? I think this raises more questions. We are not buying it or believing it until we see something formally issued.”
DEP spokeswoman Alex Kuchta said in a statement late Sunday that the proposal was withdrawn.
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection appreciates the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation’s good-faith proposal for a public golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park,” Kuchta wrote in the statement. “While they are withdrawing their proposal, the foundation worked with the state to pursue a project that would have created a public, world class golf course for all, while supporting veterans, first responders and their families. Their plan to honor the Tuskegee Airmen was noble.”
In Bongino’s personal note, he mentions the nonprofit charity Folds of Honor, which had tried previously to push the golf course plan at Jonathan Dickinson but was rebuffed. Oklahoma-based Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships for the families of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders, had not come forward as having been associated with the current plan.
“My good friends at Folds of Honor have also assured me that they do not plan to move forward on this project,” said Bongino, who lives in Palm City. “They are great people, doing great things. They just didn’t understand the local passion for JD Park. They heard us and did the right thing.”
Because of Delaware’s strict corporate privacy rules, no information about anyone connected to the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation is available. The foundation, which incorporated in August 2021, is listed as having $436 in delinquent taxes, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations.
The Tuskegee Dunes statement also does not give information as to where Tuskegee Dunes is based, whether it is a nonprofit organization, a website address, board members or its history. The website TuskegeeDunesFoundation.com says it is “launching soon.”
In the original note from Tuskegee Dunes when it was still promoting the plan, it says it would donate profits from the courses at Jonathan Dickinson to Folds of Honor.
In Florida lobbyist records, Ryan E. Matthews is named as a representative of Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, which lists the same Owasso, Oklahoma, address as that of Folds of Honor. Matthews, who is now with the law firm of GrayRobinson, was interim secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under former Gov. Rick Scott. He served for four months in 2017.
Phone and email messages to Matthews were not returned over the weekend.
Folds of Honor is also associated with American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan.
The creation of American Dunes in 2018 was led by North Palm Beach resident and golf legend Jack Nicklaus, with him donating his $3 million design fee, according to the American Dunes website. The American Dunes motto is “The church that Jack built. God. Country. Golf.”
In 2011, legislators tried to add golf courses to state parks through bills that would have created the “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail of Florida.” The only park specifically mentioned in the House’s version of the bill was Jonathan Dickinson, which is nearest Nicklaus’s North Palm Beach home.
The bills were quickly withdrawn after public outcry.
Last week, Nicklaus Companies, which is no longer affiliated with founder Jack Nicklaus, said it was not associated with the recent golf course plans. The statement from Nicklaus Companies emphasized that it was from the firms – Nicklaus Companies and Nicklaus Design – alone, not Jack Nicklaus personally.
“We take great pride in the Nicklaus name, our reputation, and the work we do at Nicklaus Design – particularly as it relates to environmental and community stewardship,” the statement from Nicklaus Companies said. “Florida is our company’s home, and many of our employees are frequent patrons of our beautiful state parks. You can be assured that everything we do is in keeping with these principles.”
According to the Tuskegee Dunes, the proposed golf courses would have taken up about 600 acres of Jonathan Dickinson State Park’s 10,500 acres and include 36 holes designed by “world class golf course designers.” The planned design would have included a nine-hole course called Red Tail that would have been fully accessible in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. A practice park would double as an outdoor gathering place for local community events.
Tuskegee Dunes filed for multiple trademarks in June 2023, including for golf course design and development.
Mountain bike and hiking trails would have been incorporated into the plans and “enhancements will be made to the Observation Tower,” according to the statement sent to The Post on Friday.
“Southeast Florida, including the Jupiter area, has limited public golf,” Friday’s statement from Tuskegee Dunes says. “A total of 85% in the Southeast corridor is private golf. This is a dramatic contrast to the national average of 80% public vs. private golf access.”
Eric Draper, who was director of the Florida Park Service for four years through 2021, said he was disappointed that a former DEP secretary may have been involved in trying to “take away our state parks.”
“If it weren’t for everyone expressing their point of view, I think the governor and DEP would have pushed this right through,” Draper said. “So, I am so proud of what everyone has done. This is what the governor doesn’t get: The parks belong to the people.”
Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said Folds of Honor approached her last year and asked if she would sponsor legislation aimed at bringing golf specifically to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. They highlighted the benefits to veterans the golfing venture could mean.
“They had a lovely presentation on what they are doing in Michigan,” Harrell said Saturday. “I told them, ‘It’s a marvelous idea, but you don’t do it in a state park.’
“This is not the appropriate use,” she continued, calling the park “a natural treasure of the Treasure Coast.”
“The state parks are to protect the natural habitat and environment of the area as well as preserve it for future generations,” she said. Harrell said she’s all about helping veterans – her daughter is one and married to another one. But there’s a limit.
“Golf courses are wonderful – somewhere else, not in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.”
Eight other state parks have also been proposed for added amenities including pickleball courts, disc golf and 350-bed lodges.
– Palm Beach Post staff writer Anne Geggis and editor Holly Baltz contributed to this story.
The 2028 Curtis Cup Match is headed to one of the best courses in the world.
Competitive women’s amateur golf has scored another victory, landing one of the top golf courses in the world as host of the 2028 Curtis Cup Match at Royal Dornoch in northern Scotland.
The Championship Course at Royal Dornoch is ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 3 course outside the United States. Opened in 1877 as a nine-hole layout in the Scottish Highlands, the links course was extended to 18 holes in 1886 by Old Tom Morris. Other designers have contributed over the decades to the hilly seaside layout, including John Sutherland, George Duncan and most recently the team of Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert.
This year’s Curtis Cup Match, a biennial team event featuring top female amateurs representing the U.S. and Europe, is August 30-Sept. 1 at Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old Course in England, which Golfweek’s Best has tied for No. 9 among courses outside the United States. The 2026 match will be held from June 12-14 at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, which ties for No. 57 among all classic courses in the U.S.
The dates for the 2028 match are to be determined.
“We look forward to staging the Curtis Cup at such a historic venue in 2028,” Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of championships for the R&A, said in a media release announcing the selection of Royal Dornoch in the run-up to this year’s staging of the event. “We want to give elite amateur golfers world-class platforms to show us how well they can perform, and that will certainly be the case at Royal Dornoch. The Championship Course has earned worldwide acclaim and it promises to be a wonderful occasion in the rich history of the Curtis Cup.”
Royal Dornoch’s Championship Course in the Scottish Highlands (Courtesy of Royal Dornoch Golf Club)
Royal Dornoch has a track record of hosting top amateur events, including the 1985 British Amateur Championship and four Scottish Men’s Amateur Championships, most recently in 2023.
“The Curtis Cup is also going to be a tremendous occasion for the local area,” Neil Hampton, general manager at Royal Dornoch, said in the media release. “With the Championship Course consistently ranked highly in global standings and the investment in our infrastructure as we build a new clubhouse, a match of this standing and stature will only enhance the reputation of Royal Dornoch, the town and the local area.”
No one was better in majors this year than World No. 1.
After earning a T-2 finish Sunday at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, Nelly Korda won the 2024 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. Earning her 12th career top-10 finish in a major championship, Korda becomes the third American to win the award since its inception in 2014, joining Michelle Wie West, who won the inaugural award, and Lilia Vu, who won last season.
The Rolex ANNIKA Major Award recognizes the player who has the most outstanding record in all five major championships during the LPGA season. Korda, the No. 1 player in the world, won the 2024 Chevron Championship to claim her second career major championship victory, following her 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win, and continue a historic start to her 2024 season. Her win at The Chevron Championship was her fifth straight victory of the season, which tied the record held by LPGA Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez for most wins in consecutive starts.
The 26-year-old is the 10th different winner of Rolex Annika Major Award since it was established in 2014. She joins Michelle Wie West (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), Jin Young Ko (2019), Patty Tavatanakit (2021), Minjee Lee (2022) and Lilia Vu (2023) as winners of the honor, which will be presented to Korda at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November.
The award was not given out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Points for Rolex ANNIKA Major Award are awarded at all five major championships to competitors who finish in the top 10. To earn the award, a player must have also won at least one of the five majors. Korda (The Chevron Championship), Amy Yang (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship), Ayaka Furue (Amundi Evian Championship), Yuka Saso (U.S. Women’s Open) and Lydia Ko (AIG Women’s Open) were the other players eligible for the award this season.
Heading into the year’s final major championship, the AIG Women’s Open, there were just 18 players who had a chance at earning the award, with Korda ultimately claiming the prize.
“Our goal is to bring all types of new people into the game of golf.”
Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl A. Cooper co-founded the lifestyle brand Eastside Golf after winning a national championship together at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Eastside Golf is a lifestyle golf brand developed to raise awareness about golf among youth and non golfers. We want to inspire the culture, promote diversity and continue to be authentic.
As part of the PGA of America’s 2025 Merchandise Summit in Frisco, Texas, Golfweek spent time with a number of golf brands, and Brad Fox, the head of sales for the company, explained the brand’s vision while showing off their wares.
“Our goal is to bring all types of new people into the game of golf,” Fox said.
Watch the video above to see more about the company.
Rory McIlroy let his emotions get the best of him during a frustrating finish on Friday.
The game of golf can drive anyone to immense frustration, even when you’re one of the best players in the world.
Rory McIlroy proved that on Friday when his emotions got the best of him deep in the back nine as he finished Round 2 at the BMW Championships in Denver at 1-under for the day and sitting 10 strokes back from leader Adam Scott.
After the world’s No. 3-ranked golfer three-putted on Hole 16 to finish with a bogey, he missed the fairway on his Hole 17 drive. It’s an eagle-able Par 5, but McIlroy ultimately parred the hole.
Following the awry drive, McIlroy lost his cool — albeit, in the most anti-climactic way possible. He just tossed his driver into the water in front of the tee box, ever-so-casually.
It may have felt cathartic for McIlroy, who missed the opportunity to gain some ground on the leader on Hole 17. But that feeling probably went away when he had to fish it out of the drink and then take a walk of shame to his ball.
Downs was one of the three officers who failed to turn on their body cams during Scheffler’s incident at Valhalla.
In one of the wildest stories of the last 10 years in golf, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, just a month after winning his second green jacket at the Masters, was arrested early Friday morning of the PGA Championship back in May.
On Friday, Ward Jolles of Wave 3 News in Louisville reported that LMPD Officer Javar Downs was arrested for stealing $4,000 he seized from a suspect being booked into jail.
Downs was one of the three officers who failed to turn on their body cams during Scheffler’s incident at Valhalla.
LMPD has put Downs on “emergency suspension” and has “begun the process of terminating the employment of Officer Downs.”
MORE: Downs is charged with one count of Theft by Unlawful Taking $1k or greater, and one count of official misconduct. After allegedly pocketing money he seized from a suspect he booked into LMDC, Downs himself was booked this morning. Here's his mugshot. @wave3newspic.twitter.com/4HlBm2S5Ji
Does Florida need more golf courses at the expense of protected land in state parks?
A proposal to convert sections of several protected Florida State Parks to golf courses, lodges and other non-traditional park amenities has started to garner plenty of opposition after the surprise “Great Outdoors Initiative” was announced on August 19 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The most eye-popping changes might be the introduction of 45 holes of golf to Jonathan Dickinson State Park, an 11,500-acre park in Martin County near Jupiter in southeast Florida that features sandy dunes – the kind of land frequently coveted by golf developers.
The Department of Environmental Protection released the plans on social media after they were initially leaked. With no detailed description of the golf plans, a map included in the official release shows the proposed courses (shown in pink below).
A map released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection shows the proposed areas of Jonathan Dickinson State Park that could be converted into golf courses. (Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
Equally eye-popping is that the proposals appear to many observers to have come out of thin air, with no public input in the development of plans to this point. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, a staunch environmental defender of the nearby St. Lucie River, told ThePalm Beach Post that park proposals came without any forewarning.
“Nobody that I spoke to in government had heard literally one thing about this,” Mast said during an interview at Jonathan Dickinson on Thursday. “Everyone was taken by surprise.”
After several days of silence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s spokesman responded to criticism this week with statements on social media indicating the proposed changes are all about public access and utilization of the parks.
“The Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Parks are looking at recommendations for ways to enhance Florida’s parks to make them more visitor-friendly.”
This is not the first time golf was proposed in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Legislative initiatives in 2011 included a Jack Nicklaus-designed course at the park, but those plans were quickly swept away after substantial public criticism.
There are more than 1,300 golf courses in Florida, which has been dubbed in many marketing efforts as the Golf Capital of the World. The majority of Florida’s golf courses offer public access.
Florida operates 175 state parks within environments ranging from upland scrub to aquatic shorelines, with parks ranging in size from a handful of acres to more than 75,000 acres. Typical amenities might include campsites, cabins and trails, most constructed with a goal of minimizing human impact while providing recreational and educational opportunities. They are operated by the Florida Park Service, a division of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Some aspects of the Park Service’s historic mission could change if the new proposals are carried out. The proposed plans also include the introduction of pickleball, disc golf, paddling, cabins and lodges with as many as 350 rooms.
Changes have been proposed at nine parks around the state. As required by law, the DEP has scheduled a series of public meetings on August 27 in each county where park changes have been proposed. But those mostly simultaneous, in-person-only meetings will be limited to one hour with public speakers limited to three minutes of comments each. Opponents say the limited comment period indicates the rushed meetings are insufficient and that a wide range of comments isn’t valued.
DeSantis is a frequent golfer. Comments by Redfern, DeSantis’ press secretary, included the following:
“There will be multiple phases of public discussion to evaluate stakeholders’ feedback. The agency’s initial recommendations are based on public input and proposals—from pickleball to golf to additional bike trails and camping access; the proposals vary and may not all be approved.
“Finally, recommendations will be evaluated, and no final decisions will be made until the public comment and review process has been completed.”
