It didn’t take long for the barely-there political nuances surrounding the LIV golf tournament at Donald Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club to erupt Saturday afternoon.
The hundreds of spectators filling the bleachers behind the first tee broke into chants of “Four more years!” that echoed across the field as the former US president emerged in a white polo shirt and a red Make America Great Again cap to watch the lead group of Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Phachara Khongwatmai begin their second round after the horn blew out the shotgun blast at a quarter past one.
A few meters away, Greg Norman, the CEO and face of the controversial Saudi-funded runaway tour, raised the roof with a shy smile, embracing the boisterous atmosphere even though the official broadcast had deftly avoided, which was broadcast on YouTube to around 70,000 viewers. in the absence of a television agreement. And that was before the surprise appearance of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Republican congresswoman and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist from Georgia.
If the first day was a Diet Maga rally, this was Maga Classic. The crowds for Saturday’s second round of the 54-hole no-cut tournament were slightly larger and certainly stronger than Friday’s opening session, when no more than 2,000 spectators descended on Trump’s 500-acre grounds National in this central New Jersey farming town. 45 miles west of New York City. The previously deserted grandstands and grassy knolls along the fairways were filled with fans as the middle event of the $25 million tournament was played under blue skies and comfortable temperatures of 88F (31C).
Stenson, the joint overnight leader fresh off captaining Europe’s Ryder Cup last week, shot a two-under 69 to extend his lead over the field to nine under, three strokes clear of Dustin Johnson and four ahead of Patrick Reed. , Carlos Ortiz and Talor Gooch.
But it was the former US president who plunged back into the spotlight as the all-star field of PGA Tour defectors made the simultaneous lap around the 7,591-yard Old Course. A steady mass of several hundred supporters spent the afternoon parked outside the enclosed terrace off the 16th tee where Trump took part in the second half of the day’s play. Many of them wore branded T-shirts with familiar slogans: Let’s Go Brandon; Am I missing?; Don’t blame me, I voted for Trump.
Fans watch the 10th green being played from afar in Bedminster. Photograph: Mike Stobe/LIV Golf/Getty Images
His patience was rewarded when he finally burst out of the fishbowl with delirious roars for an impromptu performance of God Bless America and joined Taylor Greene, the conservative firebrand who’s been gunning for a spot on the U.S. ticket. Trump’s 2024. The atmosphere was much quieter a few hundred yards behind the 514-yard, par-five first tee, where a plaque and a bouquet of white flowers marked the newly returned plot of land where first wife Ivana Trump of the former president, was buried this week.
Trump’s illicit use of the presidential seal at his Bedminster club has raised eyebrows from ethics watchdogs, but many of the other indicators of his tenure in the White House for reasons are the right side of federal law. Anyone who left their Maga hat at home could pick one up at the pro shop: unsigned for $35, autographed for $500. Ditto for copies of her pictorial memoir, Our Journey Together, which cost $75.
Critics have accused the Saudi government of using its $2 billion investment in LIV Golf to “sport-wash” the kingdom’s sordid human rights record, alleged links to the 9/11 attacks, severe crackdown of women’s and LGBTQ+ rights and the murder of the dissident journalist in 2018. Jamal Khashoggi.
But while Washington’s chatterbox has spent the week pondering whether Trump’s about-face toward a regime he once accused of a role in 9/11 will cost him politically, the scenes of on saturday they seemed to put the matter to rest, with gulf standing firm. in the back seat.