:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71549218/536861348.0.jpg "History of the Blue Monster: LIV Golf Match Play Championship at Trump National Doral after PGA TOUR absence")
Home to an annual PGA TOUR event from 1962 to 2016, the Blue Monster Course at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami Florida will return to center stage after an eight-year lull to host LIV Golf's Match Play Championship from Friday, October 28 through Sunday, October 30.
The Blue Monster, so dubbed for its challenging and ubiquitous water hazards, is best known for its – well, 18th hole. A par-4 473-yard hole, the 18th features an enormous water hazard that runs the entire length of the hole up the left side. Of course, with LIV's shotgun starts, it won't be the 18th for everyone this weekend.
Before Donald Trump purchased the resort, the PGA TOUR hosted a Doral Open on the Blue Monster from 1962 to 2006. From 2007 to 2016, the WGC-Cadillac Championship traveled to Miami every year to bring top golfers to the iconic course.
But following Trump's campaign and eventual ascent to the presidency in 2016, the PGA TOUR announced that they would no longer host the WGC event at Doral, but would move to Mexico City.
Trump believed the move to be politically motivated, whereas the PGA TOUR countered with more money from a new sponsor in Mexico after Cadillac decided to cut ties.
The par-72 Blue Monster course is 7,590 yards in length with a 146 slope. It underwent a partial renovation designed by Gil Hanse in 2014. Former champions at the Blue Monster include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods … and LIV CEO Greg Norman.