NFL player Jordan Poyer of the Buffalo Bills announced that he has cancelled his annual golf event, following pushback and teams and sponsors pulling out of the charity tournament after they learned it would be hosted on a course owned by former President Donald Trump.
The Bills safety announced the news on Instagram on Saturday. The event was set to take place next month at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in South Florida.
“Unfortunately, the location of the event led to a few sponsors and golfers withdrawing at the last minute due to external pressures,” the 32-year-old wrote. “While it’s disappointing, I respect their decision. Nevertheless, we will persevere.”
It remains unclear how many sponsors and teams withdrew because of the location.
The event was intended to benefit the ECMC Foundation – the Erie County Medical Center – according to the Buffalo News.
While Mr Poyer described them as a “big sponsor,” the foundation said they were simply the beneficiary.
ECMC Foundation executive director Susan Gonzalez wrote in a letter to the Buffalo News that the “ECMC Foundation was fortunate to be a beneficiary of Jordan Poyer’s golf tournament in Florida”.
“Although the Foundation was not a sponsor, we have had an excellent partnership with Jordan and we respect his decision to cancel his tournament; we hope he will consider supporting us in his future events,” she added.
Last year, PGA of America ended its connection to Mr Trump and moved the 2022 PGA championship from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course as a result of the January 6 2021 insurrection, Yahoo! Sports noted.
The R&A revealed earlier this month that it wouldn’t organise the British Open at Mr Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland while Mr Trump is the owner. The course previously hosted the tournament in 2009, about five years before Mr Trump acquired it.
Mr Trump came under fire during his time as president when he suggested hosting the G7 summit at Doral.
But Mr Trump’s courses have hosted several events organised by Saudi-operated LIV Golf.
On Wednesday, the PGA Tour revealed that it would appear before a Senate subcommittee in July. Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked executives from the tour, as well as Saudi golf interests to appear before the panel as they probe the deal between the PGA and LIV that shocked the golf world.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing on 11 July to look into the agreement between the PGA tour, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the European tour to gather commercial business and rights in a new firm, the AP noted.
“Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest,” Mr Blumenthal said in a statement. “Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information, and they owe Congress — and the American people — answers in a public setting.”
