The PGA Tour is moving a tournament from a Miami golf course owned by Donald Trump to one in Mexico City.
Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said the change was not political, but came after the tour was unable to secure sponsorship for the World Golf Championships tournament at the Trump National Doral course at levels to sustain the event and help it grow.
The tournament had been held at Doral since 2007 after stops in Spain, Ireland, England and elsewhere in the United States.
Trump called the decision, announced Wednesday, a sad day for Miami, the U.S. and golf.
"No different than Nabisco, Carrier and so many other American companies, the PGA Tour has put profit ahead of thousands of American jobs, millions of dollars in revenue for local communities and charities and the enjoyment of hundreds of thousands of fans who make the tournament an annual tradition," Trump said.
He has criticized American companies for moving their operations abroad throughout his current campaign for president, and said the PGA Tour move further shows why he is running.
"You vote for Donald Trump as president, and if I become your president, this stuff is all going to stop," he told supporters in California.
Cadillac, which has sponsored the event at Trump's course, did not renew its deal as the title sponsor of the event. The new sponsor through 2023 is Grupo Salinas, a Mexico City-based retail, television and telecommunications company.
The rebranded tournament will be first held in March 2017.
"Since the debut of the World Golf Championships in 1999, the intent has always been to conduct these tournaments around the world," Finchem said.
The tour head praised Trump as a "gracious" host since he took over the Doral course in 2013 and said the PGA remained interested in returning there "when the time is right."
