USGA's Davis On Trump: "For all that comes with Donald as a business icon and media personality, he couldn't have been a more gracious host."

Translation, even though he seems like a blowhard, he actually can host a championship well enough that we'll put up with a "partner" that would have made Joe Dey jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.

At least, that's how I took USGA Executive Director Mike Davis's remarks, though a transcript from the day can't be found at the usual spot USGA transcripts appear.

This was an interesting element in the decision to take the 2017 Women's Open to Trump National.

"We really get to showcase our museum and we get to showcase where we test balls and clubs," Davis said. "Far Hills is not the easiest place to find, so to get the golf world for a week here, it's very exciting and we will expose the campus."

Brad Klein got to spend some time driving around the course with The Donald and came away swooning about the man, even dropping the "h word. (Humble...really).

Enthusiasm and attention are why he got to Trump National 90 minutes before the news conference. That gave him time to inspect work in progress on the club’s new 10,000-square-foot locker room. And it’s why he insisted on accompanying me on a drive through the back nine of the Old Course. His discourse during such a trip is filled with superlatives, about this being the largest single green in the world and the whole course being the best in all of New Jersey and worthy of a top-10 national ranking. He’s an incessant follower of course ratings and thinks that Golfweek, in rating Trump National-Old at No. 72 Modern, we’ve not shown the course (or him) enough respect.

USGA.org featured a slideshow from the media day. This one had a caption, but somehow I know you can do better:

"Trump International Golf Links Scotland is destined to become one of the most polarizing courses in all of golf."

Darius Oliver with the first Trump International Scotland review from a trustworthy source.

The main issue with the playability of the Trump International Scotland course, is that fairways are relatively tight given the frequent high winds here and the off fairway areas are quite penal. There is no doubt that over time the maintenance crew will have to soften some of the problem areas, and likely learn to keep the marram grass in the immediate surrounds under control. What will give operators more trouble are the teeing grounds, with golfers able to choose from more than 100 different tee boxes across the property. Virtually every hole has a spectacular back tee, which is often placed high on a bordering dune and completely exposed to the elements. Hawtree has admitted that he is uncomfortable about some of these back tees, and with good reason too as players with poorer techniques are likely to find the narrow fairways even harder to hit from such elevation. The other concern with having so many tees is that the course invariably becomes longer to walk, and therefore longer to play. Even fast fourballs playing solid golf will struggle to keep rounds under four and a half hours. Busy days with high winds could be brutal here.

The Donald Does Bohemian Rhapsody!

Niamh Anderson of the Daily Mail reveals the overnight UK sensation (1000 YouTube views!!) though I must say, I'll never look at Donald Trump's comb-over quite the same again. And that's saying a lot. (Thanks reader David for this.)

The woman behind the video, freelance writer Hazel Cameron, 52, said she was delighted with how it turned out. She said: ‘It took nearly two years to complete but we are thrilled with it.’

She came up with the idea in 2010, when she and her friends were talking about Trump’s plans. Miss Cameron said she ‘had to do something’ to raise awareness about the links course.

She said: ‘His actions are appalling. I’ve spent almost my whole life working in business and I know how difficult planning and environmental laws can be.

'So why was he able to come in and sweep them all away? We have hundreds of golf courses in Scotland and we don’t need another one – especially if it means that people will lose their homes.’

She emailed May asking for  permission to use the song and was surprised to receive a reply within four hours. May told her: ‘I hope you will be able to stop this nasty project.’

Tuesday's Trump Files...

It's a mixed bag for the Trump Olive Oil Company today, as Kerry Singe reports the "Trump Organization" has lost interest in buying The Point Lake and Golf Club due to member disarray and indecision. Shocking, that people of means can't agree on selling to other people of means.

Eric Trump, son of real estate mogul Donald Trump, flew to Charlotte Monday to meet with Crescent and club board members.

On Wednesday morning, Trump said, he called the board to say he was no longer interested.

"There's a lot of confusion at the club. A lack of direction," Trump told the Observer. "It's a great asset, and with a lot of capital could have been terrific. But we don't want to get bogged down with a deal that has a lot of different parties all moving in different directions at the same time."

Meanwhile, SI's Michael Bamberger watched the new "You've Been Trumped" documentary at the Miami Film Festival and came out of it feeling that filmmaker Baxter portrays Trump as a bully and blowhard, yet Bamberger finds The Donald "weirdly charismatic."

The Trump that appears in Baxter's film is a bully and a blowhard, and he comes off the same way in my friend Mike Tollin's ESPN film "Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?" (Trump! At least, that's Mike's considered view.) I don't doubt that Trump can be a bully and a blowhard, but I have a different take on him. I found Trump to be smart, open and weirdly charismatic.

But the thing I liked best about him is that he didn't take himself too seriously, or not overly so. When I was doing my reporting on Trump, he had an ugly, ongoing feud with Rosie O'Donnell. Three days a week or so there was a "Page Six" item about their Seinfeldian war over nothing. I said to Trump, "This thing with Rosie, you're loving it, aren't you?" He said, "Michael." (If you meet him and you can help him, he will learn your name and use it often.) "Rose O'Donnell is the gift that keeps giving." In other words, she kept his name in the paper, and he likes that. More recently, I've abandoned my old view. I now think Trump takes himself very seriously.

No, really? You sure Mike?

You've heard him talk about running for president and questioning Obama's birth records.

Unfortunately.

There was no wink in any of that, not that I saw. He used to talk to me about golf-course construction as a hobby, the way gardening is for other people. Now I think golf has become something more for him.

Friday Photo Caption Fun: The Donald And Gil

Golf Channel cameras picked up Donald Trump ratcheting up the greater Miami wind speeds by sharing suggestions with Gil Hanse for their 2013 redo of Doral. Or he's directing a plane into the gate. Either way, Gil isn't saying much, but what's The Donald saying?

The Donald: I Just Got A Women's U.S. Open!

Gary Van Sickle interviews Donald Trump about purchasing Doral out of the bargain bin and His Donaldness reveals that his Bedminster course will be awarded a U.S. Women's Open, just as soon as the USGA announces it! Oops!

We just got the Women's U.S. Open at that one, which is phenomenal. [Editor's Note: USGA representatives say nothing is official, yet].The one in Florida is great. One of the other things I'll be having is a brand new Sikorsky helicopter that'll go between my course in Palm Beach and my course in Miami. I'm totally sold out in Palm Beach. That place is a real success. Having helicopter service between them will be fantastic. We're going to spend a lot of money and bring Doral to the highest levels of golf. I think it's the best location in the country. Miami is hot as a pistol.

Shock: The Donald In Feud With Politicians Who Approved His Scottish Course

An unbylined AP story on The Donald's shocking, I mean shocking turn against the same politicos who ramroded his Scottish golf project through despite objections. This time it's over the wind farm that'll spoil The Donald's views the days the water is not shrouded in fog.

Trump has launched a blistering attack on Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond over plans to build a "horrendous" wind farm off the coast of his luxury Scottish golf resort. In an open letter, Trump accuses Salmond of being "hell bent on destroying Scotland's coast line and therefore Scotland itself."

The bitter words are a far cry from the love-in the two men enjoyed four years ago when Salmond backed Trump's 750 million pound (US$1.2 billion) golf development 12 miles (16km) north of Aberdeen despite protests from environmentalists and locals about damage to rare sand dunes.

Back then, Trump invited Salmond to join him and actor Sean Connery to be the first to tee off on what the businessman described as "the world's greatest golf course." Trump also heaped praise on Salmond's government after it overruled local lawmakers who rejected the planned golf resort.

The Scottish leader backed the golf course by claiming it would create hundreds of tourism jobs around the Aberdeenshire area.

The Donald wrote a letter...and brought China and his mother into it.

"Jobs will not be created in Scotland because these ugly monstrosities known as turbines are manufactured in other countries such as China. These countries, who so benefit from your billions of pounds of payments, are laughing at you!" Trump said.

Trump concludes the attack by referring to his mother, who was raised in Scotland.

He adds: "I'm doing this to save Scotland and honor my mother..."

He ridicules the Scottish National Party's renewable energy policies, claiming the economic benefit is going to China and other countries, not Scotland.