Will Donald Trump turn up at Doral? Cadillac Championship rumours emerge before weekend

Will U.S. President Donald Trump make an appearance at the Cadillac Championship this weekend? 

While nothing has been confirmed, there are rumours on the ground that the President could be making an appearance at Trump National Doral this weekend. 

During Friday’s broadcast, commentators referenced rumours of a “big plane” potentially landing on Saturday — a remark that immediately fuelled speculation that the President could be about to rock up at his own PGA Tour event. 

The Cadillac Championship marks the PGA Tour's return to the fearsome Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral for the first time in a decade, bringing one of golf’s most recognisable venues back into the spotlight.

There is a huge $20m prize purse on the line, with $3.6m going to the winner.

The 72-man tournament marks the fifth Signature Event of the season. 

There is no halfway cut so everyone will play all four rounds. 

As it stands, Players champion Cameron Young has taken control of the tournament as he goes in pursuit of his second win of the season. 

A number of other PGA Tour stars are going in pursuit of the runaway leader though, including the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth.

Keep up to speed with latest scores here. 

Before the tournament got underway, a brand new gold statue of President Trump was positioned by the first tee at Trump National Doral. 

It's fair to say the statue has drawn quite a bit of attention from players, fans and the media. 

Earlier this week, President Trump hosted a White House State Dinner in honour of King Charles. 

Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica were among guests in attendance.

But the six-time major champion chose not to compete in the Cadillac Championship. 

During Trump's speech, he broke from his prepared remarks to acknowledge McIlroy’s recent successful title defence at The Masters.

The President said of McIlroy: “I had to interrupt my speech. I watched that man win a tournament. That was a tough one. Congratulations, very proud of you.”

While the first round was taking place on Thursday, President Trump made comments about the future structure of men’s professional golf — remarks that came on the same day it was confirmed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will no longer fund the LIV Golf League beyond 2026.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump expressed support for the idea of reunifying the sport’s biggest names across tours.

“Well, I do,” he said when asked if PGA Tour events should welcome back LIV players. 

“I’d love to see LIV. But I do believe that all of the golfers should be playing – the great golfers – should be playing against each other. I want to see Rory [McIlroy] playing Bryson DeChambeau. I want to see big Jon Rahm play Scottie [Scheffler], who is so great.”

“There’s something nice about all of the players playing together. Now they’ll all be accepted by the tour...  they’ll all be back on tour and it’ll be great,” Trump added.

While that wider debate continues to develop, the immediate focus at Doral remains firmly on whether Trump will actually appear at his PGA Tour event in person — with Saturday now looming as the most likely moment for any potential visit.