Trump Bedminster – Syndication Server

Did Donald Trump beat a pair of pro golfers? One Congressional candidate said he did

According to a former White House aide: “Trump put to shame two professional golfers.”

Former President Donald Trump enjoys spending time on the golf course, and he had long hoped to host a major tournament at one of the courses his organization owns. The 2022 PGA Championship was originally scheduled at his course in Bedminster, but the PGA of America took that away after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump still plays consistently and he has long been proud of his game.

But does the 77-year-old presidential candidate have the kind of game that can hold off touring pros? According to a former White House aide who is running for Congress, that’s exactly what happened during a recent outing.

At a rally in Rome, Georgia, candidate Brian Jack insisted that Trump did just that.

More: Take a look at the golf courses owned by Donald Trump

“I’m not sure if I should say this,” said Jack. “But just a few weeks ago, President Trump put to shame two professional golfers. I ain’t gonna mention their names, but just know he shot a 70 on 18 holes.”

According to a post at Mediaite.com, no course was mentioned in Jack’s speech, but this score would be in line with previous numbers Trump has insisted he’s produced.

Jack did not cite the course where this alleged 70 was shot. But if it was the notoriously difficult Trump-owned Bedminster, NJ layout, then Trump might have actually had an off day. Back in August, the former president claimed to have shot a 67 on that track. Two weeks earlier, a the same course hosted a tournament for Saudi-backed LIV golf. Trump’s claimed 67 would have beaten 47 of the 48 pros in the final round.

The aspiring congressman did not share any specifics — including whether Trump took any mulligans or played from the same tees as the pros. If Trump got any significant edges like that, then the pros certainly would not have felt as though they’d been “put to shame” — even if Trump shot a lower score. But the idea of Trump, at age 77, outplaying two current pros without receiving any type of advantage?

In 2023, Trump announced the victory via social media.

“I am pleased to report, for those that care, that I just won the Senior Club Championship (must be over 50 years old!) at Bedminster (Trump National Golf Club), shooting a round of 67,” the Palm Beach resident posted. “Now, some people will think that sounds low, but there is no hanky/lanky. Many people watch, plus I am surrounded by Secret Service Agents. Not much you can do even if you wanted to, and I don’t.”

Trump concluded his post: “For some reason, I am just a good golfer/athlete – I have won many Club Championships, and it is always a great honor!”

2023 LIV Golf Bedminster prize money payouts for each player and team

It pays to play well on the Saudi-backed circuit.

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It pays to play well on the LIV Golf League, just ask Cameron Smith.

The 29-year-old won for the third time since he joined the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-backed circuit at the 2023 LIV Golf Bedminster event at Trump National in New Jersey on Sunday. For his efforts, Smith will take home the top prize of $4 million and has now made $13,684,667 so far this season just as an individual.

Anirban Lahiri finished runner-up but a whopping seven shots back at 5 under. He will take home $2.25 million. Abraham Ancer, Patrick Reed and Dean Burmester each finished T-3 at 4 under and earned $1.1 million a piece.

Check out how much money each player and team earned at LIV Golf’s 11th event of its 2023 season.

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Individual prize money

Position	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Cameron Smith	-12	$4,000,000
2	Anirban Lahiri	-5	$2,250,000
T3	Patrick Reed	-4	$1,100,000
T3	Dean Burmester	-4	$1,100,000
T3	Abraham Ancer	-4	$1,100,000
6	Branden Grace	-3	$700,000
T7	Joaquin Niemann	-2	$570,000
T7	Marc Leishman	-2	$570,000
T9	Charles Howell III	-1	$437,500
T9	Phil Mickelson	-1	$437,500
T11	Richard Bland	E	$331,428.57
T11	Graeme McDowell	E	$331,428.57
T11	Kevin Na	E	$331,428.57
T11	Dustin Johnson	E	$331,428.57
T11	Brendan Steele	E	$331,428.57
T11	Carlos Ortiz	E	$331,428.57
T11	Talor Gooch	E	$331,428.57
T18	Bryson DeChambeau	1	$240,000
T18	Charl Schwartzel	1	$240,000
T18	Jason Kokrak	1	$240,000
T18	Cameron Tringale	1	$240,000
T18	Harold Varner III	1	$240,000
T18	Bubba Watson	1	$240,000
T18	Mito Pereira	1	$240,000
T25	James Piot	2	$202,500
T25	Thomas Pieters	2	$202,500
T27	Bernd Wiesberger	3	$190,000
T27	Jediah Morgan	3	$190,000
T27	David Puig	3	$190,000
T30	Matt Jones	4	$176,000
T30	Sergio Garcia	4	$175,000
T30	Paul Casey	4	$175,000
T33	Louis Oosthuizen	5	$155,500
T33	Peter Uihlein	5	$155,500
T33	Sihwan Kim	5	$155,500
T33	Laurie Canter	5	$155,500
T33	Henrik Stenson	5	$155,500
T38	Sebastián Munoz	7	$141,250
T38	Ian Poulter	7	$141,250
T38	Brooks Koepka	7	$141,250
T38	Scott Vincent	7	$141,250
42	Matthew Wolff	8	$135,000
T43	Eugenio Chacarra	10	$131,250
T43	Pat Perez	10	$131,250
45	Chase Koepka	14	$127,500
46	Danny Lee	15	$125,000
47	Martin Kaymer	17	$122,500
48	Lee Westwood	20	$120,000

Team prize money

Position	Team	Score	Earnings
1	Ripper GC	-20	$3,000,000
T-2	Crushers GC	-9	$1,000,000
T-2	Stinger GC	-9	$1,000,000

LIV owns a 75 percent stake in each franchise and provided teams with an undisclosed amount of operating capital for the year. The teams are expected to largely run on their own dime this season, with team prize earnings going directly towards its day-to-day costs.

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Aussie Sweep: Cameron Smith, Ripper GC claim wins at LIV Golf Bedminster

The win is Smith’s second of the season and third of his LIV Golf career.

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The Aussies took over New Jersey this week as Cameron Smith and his Ripper GC swept LIV Golf Bedminster.

The 29-year-old won Sunday for the third time since joining the upstart circuit after claiming the event at Trump National Bedminster at 12 under, seven shots clear of runner-up Anirban Lahiri. Abraham Ancer, Patrick Reed and Dean Burmester finished T-3 at 4 under. Smith has five top-five finishes in 11 starts this LIV season and hasn’t finished worse than T-26 in the 48-player field events.

Smith led his all-Australian Ripper GC to its first team victory of the season at 20 under, a whopping 11 shots clear of runners-up Crushers GC and Stinger GC at 9 under. Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats GC finished fourth at 8 under.

They've finally done it!@rippergc_ secure their first team title! 🏆#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/2DVOp6RiXl

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) August 13, 2023

Next up for the shotgun-start circuit is LIV Golf Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois, Sept. 22-24, followed by LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13-15, and the LIV Golf Team Championship at Trump National Doral near Miami, Oct. 20-22.

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LIV Golf players dish on if they even want to return to the PGA Tour

Phil Mickelson said “not a single” LIV Golf player wanted to return to the PGA Tour and his colleagues backed him up.

As the powers that be continue to iron out details for the proposed framework agreement that aims to unite professional golf, one of the biggest questions is what must happen for players who left for LIV Golf to return to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Phil Mickelson didn’t mince words when he recently claimed “not a single player” who joined LIV Golf wanted to play on the PGA Tour. Are there some events players have fond memories of and wish they could play? Absolutely. But a full PGA Tour schedule, or even an abbreviated one, doesn’t sound appealing to the vast majority of those who made the leap to the 48-player, 12-team league.

We asked a handful of players what they thought ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Bedminster event at Trump National in New Jersey, and the answers were very similar.

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Photos: 2023 LIV Golf Bedminster at Trump National

Check out the best photos of the week from Trump National Bedminster.

LIV Golf is back in the suburbs of New Jersey this week at Trump National Bedminster, and while the team battle is close, one player has separated from the pack on the individual leaderboard.

Stinger GC have tied Ripper GC at 11 under on the team side, while early leader and Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith has extended his lead to four with 18 holes to play. The 29-year-old Aussie fired a 5-under 66 on Friday and added a 4-under 67 to sit at 9 under for the event, with Dean Burmester (68) and Phil Mickelson (67) T-2 at 5 under.

Former President Donald Trump was once again on hand for the festivities this week and played the Thursday pro-am with Smith and Patrick Reed.

Check out the best photos of the week from 2023 LIV Golf Bedminster at Trump National.

Report: U.S. Department of Justice investigating former President Donald Trump’s ties to LIV Golf amid larger probe

Three Trump properties will host the Saudi-backed circuit in 2023.

The United States Department of Justice is ramping up its investigation into how former President Donald Trump has handled classified documents since his time in office ended. But what does that have to do with golf?

According to a New York Times report, amid the larger investigation the DOJ has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records regarding LIV Golf and President Trump’s ties to the upstart circuit financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

In LIV Golf’s inaugural season last year, Trump National Bedminster and Trump National Doral both hosted events. The pair of properties will do so again in 2023, as will his resort in Potomac Falls, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.

From the report:

It is unclear what bearing Mr. Trump’s relationship with LIV Golf has on the broader investigation, but it suggests that the prosecutors are examining certain elements of Mr. Trump’s family business.

Last year the former president was heavily criticized for hosting LIV Golf just miles from New York City by a group of families of 9/11 victims and survivors.

“I’ve known these people for a long time in Saudi Arabia, they’ve been friends of mine for a long time,” explained Trump ahead of last year’s event at Trump National Bedminster. “They’ve invested in many American companies, they own big percentages of many, many American companies, and frankly what they’re doing for golf is so great.”

A New York City native, Trump’s comments came just days after families of 9/11 victims and survivors sent a letter to condemn the former president for hosting the Saudi-funded series. The letter expressed their “extreme pain, frustration and anger” and even included a quote from Trump’s 2016 comments on the 9/11 terrorist attacks from a segment on Fox & Friends:

“ … Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn’t the Iraqis – it was Saudi. Take a look at Saudi Arabia. Open the documents. We ought to get Bush or somebody to have the documents opened because frankly, if you open the documents, I think you are going to see it was Saudi Arabia …”

“The former President correctly speculated in 2016 that Saudi Arabia knocked down the towers and now the FBI has released the documents to prove him right,” Brett Eagleson, an advocate for the 9/11 Justice group, told CNN at the time, “yet he is choosing money over America. So much for America First. A sad day.”

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to “sportswash” its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

The DOJ is also reportedly investigating the PGA Tour for potential antitrust violations against LIV Golf.

Trump National Washington D.C. will host LIV Golf later this month, May 26-28. LIV will then head to Trump National Bedminster, Aug. 11-13, and return to Trump National Doral, Oct. 20-22. The LIV Golf season ends in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 3-5.

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Full breakdown of Trump Bedminster’s LIV Golf Invitational Series prize money payout

Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces are cleaning up at LIV events.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Jediah Morgan finished this week at 16 over, 27 shots behind winner Henrik Stenson at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, and for his efforts he’ll take home $120,000.

Welcome to golf’s new era.

Stenson won by two shots at 11 under and earned a whopping $4 million. Since turning pro in 1999, Stenson has eclipsed the $4 million mark just twice in his PGA Tour career. Dustin Johnson and his 4 Aces GC ran away with the team title by eight shots at 25 under, earning his teammates Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez $750,000 each. The team also won in Portland last month.

Chief among LIV Golf’s selling points is the 54 hole format with team and individual champions, as well as the millions and millions of dollars up for grabs. Check out the full prize money payouts for each player in Bedminster.

Position	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Henrik Stenson	-11	$4,000,000
T2	Matthew Wolff	-9	$1,812,500
T2	Dustin Johnson	-9	$1,812,500
4	Carlos Ortiz	-8	$1,050,000
5	Patrick Reed	-7	$975,000
T6	Paul Casey	-4	$648,000
T6	Sergio Garcia	-4	$648,000
T6	Turk Pettit	-4	$648,000
T6	Lee Westwood	-4	$648,000
T6	Talor Gooch	-4	$648,000
T11	Brooks Koepka	-3	$495,000
T11	Martin Kaymer	-3	$495,000
T13	Branden Grace	-2	$293,333
T13	Ian Poulter	-2	$293,333
T13	Phachara Khongwatmai	-2	$293,333
16	Sam Horsfield	-1	$240,000
T17	Chase Koepka	E	$229,000
T17	Charl Schwartzel	E	$229,000
T19	Matt Jones	1	$200,000
T19	Louis Oosthuizen	1	$200,000
T19	Justin Harding	1	$200,000
22	Travis Smyth	2	$172,000
T23	Shaun Norris	3	$168,000
T23	Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra	3	$168,000
T23	Peter Uihlein	3	$168,000
T26	Laurie Canter	4	$160,000
T26	James Piot	4	$160,000
T26	Jinichiro Kozuma	4	$160,000
T26	Jason Kokrak	4	$160,000
T26	Charles Howell III	4	$160,000
T31	Hudson Swafford	5	$151,000
T31	Pat Perez	5	$151,000
T31	Bernd Wiesberger	5	$151,000
T31	Bryson DeChambeau	5	$151,000
35	Phil Mickelson	6	$146,000
T36	Sadom Kaewkanjana	7	$141,000
T36	Graeme McDowell	7	$141,000
T36	Ryosuke Kinoshita	7	$141,000
T36	Kevin Na	7	$141,000
T40	Abraham Ancer	8	$135,000
T40	Richard Bland	8	$135,000
T42	David Puig	9	$131,000
T42	Scott Vincent	9	$131,000
T44	Hennie Du Plessis	10	$127,000
T44	Yuki Inamori	10	$127,000
46	Wade Ormsby	11	$124,000
47	Hideto Tanihara	12	$122,000
48	Jediah Morgan	16	$120,000

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Henrik Stenson holds off charging Matthew Wolff to win LIV Golf debut at Trump Bedminster

The LIV Golf Bedminster event came down to the wire on both the team and individual leaderboards.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Henrik Stenson said the last few weeks haven’t been much fun, which may be the undersell of the century seeing as the five-time member of Team Europe lost his Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches after joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The 46-year-old Swede was somehow able to block the outside noise and focus in his debut for the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, taking home the individual title by two shots at 11 under. Stenson last won at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods’ unofficial event in the Bahamas. His last PGA Tour victory came at the 2017 Wyndham Championship. The victory netted Stenson a cool $4 million.

“Yeah, it has been a bit of a roller coaster, no question. You’ve all seen that, and we talked about it earlier in the week,” said Stenson. “Now it’s about looking forward, for me at least, and yeah, I’m super proud with the focus I managed to have this week and to get my game in – I’ve been working pretty hard to get the game back in shape, and it’s certainly going in the right direction as we know now.”

Stenson was tied for the lead at Trump National Golf Club after the first round, held the solo lead after Saturday’s second round and did just enough to win Sunday, shooting a 2-under 69 for the second consecutive day. A charging Matthew Wolff tied Stenson and Patrick Reed for the low round of the week with a final-round, 7-under 64 to finish T-2 with Dustin Johnson. Carlos Ortiz finished fourth at 8 under, with Reed rounding out the top five at 7 under.

“I think there might have been a little bit of extra motivation in there this week. When we as players have that, I think we can bring out the good stuff. Yeah, I certainly did that this week,” Stenson explained. “I guess that’s been a bit of a theme over the course of my career, I think, when I really want something I manage to dig a little bit deeper, and a lot of times we manage to make it happen.”

Johnson’s 4 Aces have stacked the LIV Golf deck and won for a second consecutive event, claiming the team competition by eight shots over Lee Westwood’s Majesticks. The 4 Aces will split $3 million ($750,000 each) for their efforts, with the Majesticks earning $1.5 million ($375,000 each). Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs finished third and will split $500,000 ($125,000 each).

“Today we knew we needed to play some good golf to finish if we wanted to win this tournament as a team, and also we were both right in the mix trying to chase down Henrik,” Johnson said of his and Reed’s pursuit. “If we wanted to put a little pressure on him, we had to make some birdies and play good coming home, coming down the stretch.”

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record with guaranteed money and multi-million dollar deals. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

The series will take the month of August off before its fourth event Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 2-4, at The International near Boston.

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Why is there a DeLorean time machine styled from ‘Back to the Future’ at LIV Golf’s event at Trump Bedminster?

There’s some unique history at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — When you talk through the fan village at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster for this week’s LIV Golf event, you see everything from various food trucks and golf activities to a merchandise tent and … a DeLorean time machine?

A car styled after the DeLorean DMC-12 made famous by the “Back to the Future” movie franchise might appear to be out of place, but it’s actually right at home. The DeLorean has a unique tie to the course that’s playing host to the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series, seeing as the property used to be the home of the vehicle’s namesake.

Before he was President of the United States, Donald Trump bought the 500-plus acre former estate of automaker John Z. DeLorean in 2002, which at the time was a golf course construction project on the verge of collapse. Trump kept the same plans for the golf course and was purely the money man to lift the project back on its feet, paying $35 million for the property.

“Those people had a great vision but didn’t quite have the funding,” he said at the time.

‘Haters are gonna hate’: Graeme McDowell slows down angry Twitter fingers as confidence in LIV Golf grows

“I’m not disciplined enough to stay off my social media,” McDowell said of his responses to LIV’s online backlash.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — You know those signs in warehouses that say, It’s been (X-number) of days since last accident/mistake? Graeme McDowell needs one of those for his Twitter outbursts.

It’s been nine days since the 43-year-old clapped back at someone throwing shade his way on the social media platform — where he said he’d give a heckler 10 shots a side on their home course — which may be a record given his recent history on the platform the last few months since joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The Northern Irishman just can’t help himself sometimes.

“Yeah, it still bothers me because I’m not disciplined enough to stay off my social media,” McDowell said of the backlash he and his colleagues have faced for joining the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series. “Haters are gonna hate. Keyboard warriors are always going to be there and that is what it is. I’m not used to it. And like I said, I haven’t done a good job staying away from it.”

McDowell praised his wife, Kristin, for being his rock over the last few months. She reads every article written about LIV and her husband, but she doesn’t always pass that info along, which he says is for the best.

“I care more about what (the media) think than I care about what the Twitter world thinks, because I know they’re a bunch of idiots,” McDowell explained. “But I know the people writing up on me are a bunch of smart people at times, so that stuff hurts more. But again, it’s only opinion sometimes. It’s not facts. It’s just opinion.”

“It’s been hard. It’s been a hard couple months, but I really believed in London I was in the right place,” McDowell said despite the shellacking he and others have taken for joining the controversial series backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “That opinion has only strengthened now the last six weeks.”

The 2010 U.S. Open champion said his confidence in LIV grew at the first event in London because of the staging and the way LIV took care of the players. That confidence is only growing the more players that join the series.

“We’re kind of brothers in arms, if you like, because of the negativity that’s come out against us all,” said McDowell. “Everyone’s experienced that in their own way and it brings us all closer together.”

“But I’m getting better. I’m coming through,” he said of his newfound outlook on the situation. “I’m very happy where I am. I think this tour is only going to go from strength to strength.”

But we can still expect him to put some haters in their place from time to time, right?

“No, I’m done.”

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