Trump National Bedminster has plaque claiming Jordan Spieth's first major win; is it legit?
Golf Culture Jordan Spieth Stalker

Trump National Bedminster has plaque claiming Jordan Spieth’s first major win; is it legit?

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Jordan Spieth, by all accounts, has three major championships to his credit: the 2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open and 2017 British Open Championship. Right? Well, President Donald Trump and his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., beg to differ.

Trump National Golf Club has a plaque boasting that it is "the site of Jordan Spieth's first major championship."

Obviously Spieth didn't win any of his three majors at Trump National in Bedminster, which will host the 2022 PGA Championship.

Trump isn't claiming any of those, however. Instead, he's claiming the U.S. Junior Amateur is a major. Spieth won the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur, played at Trump's Jersey club and Summer White House. He also won the event in 2011, joining Tiger Woods at the time as the only two-time winners in the event's history.

So, is the plaque misleading? Yes and no. It says the tournament Spieth won there, and it's clearly not a major championship on the level of the four majors. It's not even on the same level as the U.S. Amateur or even the NCAA Championship. But, it is the biggest tournament in junior golf. Major? No. Major feeling? For those competing, absolutely.

While we argue about this, at least there's a conversation to be had about the plaque -- unlike the one about the Civil War battle that never happened at his Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., in northern Virginia.

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Ryan Ballengee

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