Rory McIlroy jokes about irony as Trump's old tourney gets Mexican sponsor

The PGA Tour has moved its second World Golf Championship tournament away from Doral, and the players are making jokes

By Kyle Porter

Jun 1, 2016 at 3:04 pm ET • 2 min read

The PGA Tour has officially moved itself away from Donald Trump with the announcement on Wednesday that it would take its second World Golf Championship tournament event each year to Mexico.

Golf Channel insider Tim Rosaforte is reporting that the event will be held at Club de Golf Chapultepec close to Mexico City and be sponsored by Grupo Salinas. The Tournament will be called the Mexico Championship.

Former WGC-Cadillac will move from Trump Doral to Club de Golf Chapultepec near Mexico City and sponsored by the Grupo Salinas conglomerate.
— Tim Rosaforte (@TimRosaforte) June 1, 2016

Grupo Salinas is a Mexican conglomeration that owns, among other things, TV Azteca and GS Motors.

The irony of moving from a Trump course to Mexico was not lost on at least one player commenting at the Memorial Tournament this week.

Rory McIlroy joked about the PGA Tour moving the $10M purse away from Trump to the country he's insinuated he would wall off from the United States border.

"It's quite ironic that we're going to Mexico after being at Doral," said McIlroy. "We just jump over the wall."

He was joking, of course, but went on to note that he liked the move.

"We've been going down to Mexico, whether it's been a World Cup or a Champions Tour going down there," said McIlroy. "We have the PGA Tour Latino America. So I think it's a good move. I think it really is -- to have a World Golf Championship outside of the States.

"If it's going to be on that same date, obviously, it's a little more inconvenient for me being in Palm Beach Gardens and having just to drive an hour down the road to Doral. But it's a World Golf Championship, it's going to be, obviously, a great prize fund. It's going to have all the best players in the world there. I'm sure it's going to be a good golf course."

The Mexican Open was played at Club de Golf Chapultepec back in 2014. It does appear to be a great course.

Personally, I have no issue with the move. The WGC tournaments are called World Golf Championship events for a reason. Spread them out all over the world. Now there will be two domestic and two abroad. That seems more appropriate for a field littered with dozens of foreign players.

It's pretty clear the PGA Tour was just trying to separate itself from Trump.

Donald Trump's son, Eric, told CBS Sports that Cadillac and the PGA Tour were in talks until recently and the tournament probably could have been kept at Doral if PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem wanted it to be there.

Trump responded on Tuesday night to the rumors as only Trump can.

"They're moving it to Mexico City which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance," said Trump earlier this week. "But they're moving it to Mexico City. And I'm saying, you know, what's going on here? It is so sad when you look at what's going on with our country."