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PGA golfers tee off at Trump

Professional Golfers Association

27-Sep-11 – (Above) A golf ball lands in the water hazard just east of the green on Monday afternoon in downtown Chicago. The green was on a barge floating on the main branch of the Chicago River. (Frame from video by PGA. Click on image to view larger version.)

To promote the 2012 Ryder Cup, which will be held next year in the Midwest for the first time, Davis Love III and José María Olazábal, both Ryder Cup team captains, teed off from the 16th floor terrace at Trump International Hotel & Tower, aiming for a floating green modeled after the 17th hole at Medinah Country Club, where the 2012 event will be held. Each captain attempted three 220-yard shots and, according to the PGA, both hit the green once.

It was a “complex” event, said a Trump spokesperson, and secret. “The city officials that agreed to allow the event asked that we did not announce it to anyone until hours before the event.”

It is uncertain who won. PGA did not respond to a request for information. According to its YouTube page, PGA donated $100,000 to Ronald McDonald House charities and the charitable arm of the Illinois Section PGA. The 2012 Ryder Cup will be played September 25-30, 2012.

 Video: YouTube