Not even the sports page offered respite from the political tussle, as two women golf writers for major newspapers got disturbed over the specter of Donald Trump hanging over the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament -- it’s being played at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. First, Karen Crouse on the front of Wednesday's New York Times Sports section followed Cristie Kerr, pro golfer and victim of “microaggressions,” in “Women on Trump’s Turf Tune Out Awkwardness.” USA Today's Christine Brennan trumped that with her own vituperative piece.
Crouse opened with an anecdote from Kerr of some random Wisconsin man being condescending to Kerr and women golfers in general, then pivoted sharply to Trump the woman hater.
The championship is being held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., the property that Trump has turned into his summer retreat.
The juxtaposition of Trump, who has alienated women’s rights activists with his policies, cabinet picks and public posturing, and the premier women’s golf event in the country over which he presides has placed participants this week in an awkward position.
How do they reconcile their ambitions as strong, accomplished women with the expectations thrust upon them by strong, accomplished women whose experience with the president is very different from their own?
And how do the players reconcile the outside outrage over the sexist culture that Trump’s tweets and actions seem to reflect with their personal experience with him as a respectful supporter of women’s golf?
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The United States Open historically features the most challenging setup in championship golf, but the terrain this week presents an especially tricky test for all the women competing for a piece of the $5 million purse, the largest in L.P.G.A. history. The golfers must also be wary of offending the sport’s elitist white male fan base and the women’s activist groups expected to make their presence felt.
No matter who wins, the victor is likely to be overshadowed by Trump, who is expected to be on the grounds at some point during the weekend rounds.
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In his tweets, Trump has described a beauty queen as a pig and described Mika Brzezinski, co-host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, as “a neurotic and not very bright mess.”
Kerr, 39, knows about cruel comments, having played on her high school’s boys’ golf team in Miami because there was no girls’ squad. In a 1994 article in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, she dismissed the hostility she encountered by saying: “You know the male ego. Nobody likes to be beaten by a girl.”
Twenty-three years later, Kerr is the highest-earning American female golfer, and yet she is still dealing with subtle sexism that demonstrates some men’s inability to recognize, much less respect, her talent and skill level.
During tournament weeks, she routinely encounters men in her groups at pro-am events who insist on hitting at least one club less than her into the green because they can’t accept that they might hit the same distance, or less, than one of the best female golfers in the world. She registers the surprised looks on her pro-am partners’ faces when they come up short of the green or when she outdrives them. She bites her tongue when they say, “You’re pretty good, you can play,” as if this were a revelation.
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Politics, sports and gender have become hopelessly tangled this week because of Trump’s connection to golf. While waiting out a rain suspension during the second round at Thornberry Creek last week, Kerr said she wished people could “chill out” and not politicize everything.
She was about to say more, but was distracted by the man who had offered his home near the ninth hole to Kerr, her caddie, her husband, other players and caddies and me as a refuge from an electrical storm that suspended play.
Crouse told a dramatic (and incredibly helpful, from her feminist perspective) tale about a little verbal dust-up with the man, who didn’t appreciate some of what he overheard from the interview. Later, Crouse seemed shaken by her encounter with Trumpers.
Back at the clubhouse, Kerr expressed dismay at what she considered the latest instance of a man’s micro-aggression. “This is why women are so offended by Trump’s comments about women,” she said. “It empowers the bullies and makes women feel small.”
Kerr knows one way to stand tall -- to stand above it all. The winner on Sunday can accept the trophy and, through her example, represent strong, empowered women everywhere.
Crouse has hooked a few pieces to the left in her tenure as golf writer at the paper. In February she pestered male professional golfers to see if they would agree to golf with that horrid President Trump. It turned out nine out of 10 would, to her evident dismay:
The results were hardly surprising. The clubhouses at PGA Tour stops have long trended Republican, and the sport’s target demographic -- rich, mostly white men -- is far different from the women, minorities, immigrants and Muslims who have at times been the most offended by the president’s statements and positions.
Crouse also caused controversy in April 2012 when she told a golf magazine she did not want to cover the Augusta National Masters tournament until a woman was admitted to the club. Her editor Joe Sexton said her comments were "completely inappropriate.” (The paper has had a long history of antagonism toward Augusta National's all-male policies, with previous editor Howell Raines undertaking a crusade to get Tiger Woods to boycott the tournament, out of solidarity, or something.)
Even more in-your-face was USA Today sportswriter Christine Brennan's “USGA struggles to denounce sexual assault on eve of U.S. Women's Open,” published on Tuesday evening.
The question was a simple one. “Does the USGA have a position on sexual assault?”
Has an easier question ever been asked of a national governing body -- in this case, the U.S. Golf Association?
If you were one of the four officials of the USGA, two men and two women, assembled to speak at the opening news conference before the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National, you would have leaned into the microphone, said, “Yes, it’s awful, unacceptable and illegal,” or something of the sort, and moved on.
But when you’re in business with Donald Trump, the man who appeared on the infamous Access Hollywood videotape bragging that he could sexually assault women without having to worry about the ramifications, your values start to fade.
Your principles waver. Your admirable efforts to try to attract women and girls to a game with a long history of discriminatory and exclusionary practices run head-long into your need to prostrate yourself at Trump’s feet.
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton attends many golf tournaments as participant and player without dark allegations about his sexual past being brought up.
The public moment, of course, was long gone. But the bewilderment that appeared in the eyes of the four poor souls sent to do the USGA’s Trumpian bidding was still fresh in the minds of everyone who witnessed it.
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Why does any of this matter? Golf is a man’s game, right? It’s Trump’s game, isn’t it? You sell your soul to him and you’re in a good place, correct?
