BEDMINSTER, N.J. _ President Trump arrived at his Trump National Bedminster Golf Club at 3:37 p.m. EDT, marking him as the first U.S. President to attend a U.S. Women's Open _ the most prestigious event in women's golf.
A drizzle cut back on the size of the galleries, but some cheers erupted as fans recognized the more than half dozen vehicles forming the motorcade that entered along the main entrance at Lamington Road and drove through the heart of the course, past the clubhouse and Media Center, and to an area of several residences beyond the golf course layout.
Trump started his day in France, then flew to Newark Liberty Airport before taking a 40-minute ride to the Somerset County course.
"When we entered the club, wet onlookers took photos and pointed at the motorcade," a media pool reporter in the motorcade wrote.
The golf isn't the only competition at Trump National Bedminster expected this weekend.
Groups for and against Donald Trump are planning rallies at the Clarence Dillon Public Library, the designated location for protests, on Saturday.
Groups opposed to Trump are also planning protests on Sunday, the final round of the championship.
The president arrived Friday afternoon at the golf course, after his visit to Paris to mark Bastille Day.
Americans Push Back for Trump will conduct a noontime rally Saturday at the library, then have a motorcade on Lamington Road past the golf course.
"The Trump folks need the People to push back on the ignorant hateful progressive protesters that just want to obstruct the desperately needed fixes President Trump is doing for us," the rally's organizers write on their Facebook page.
At the library, Americans Push Back for Trump will be greeted by a digital billboard with messages from news columnists on why the tournament shouldn't be played on Trump's course. The billboard, hosted by UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy group, will be parked at the library from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The billboard also will be on the roads in the area of the golf course before and after its stay at the library.
UltraViolet is also planning a protest outside the course on Lamington Road at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Trump's expected visit to his club's tournament was a topic of much discussion among LPGA Tour players all week, with almost all of them refusing to "talk politics."
An exception last week was Tour player Brittany Lincicome, who said that she feared that a Trump visit would be a "debacle" that would divert media interest from the tournament. Lincicome wound up giving herself a one-week "break from Twitter" after a barrage of social media criticism.
Marina Alex, who is in contention after two rounds at 3-under par, addressed the Trump controversy after her round on Friday.
"Regardless of your political affiliation, and whether you are a fan of Trump or you're not a fan of Trump, having a President at a women's event is pretty remarkable," Alex said. "It's going to draw attention to women's golf that has maybe never been in our favor before. If it's allowing more people to see us play our game, I don't see anything wrong with that."
As pleased as Trump is to play host to this week's tournament, Trump for many years has been outspoken about his dream of hosting a U.S. Open men's tournament _ arguably the biggest event in the sport.
A 2006 announcement by the United States Golf Association that Trump National Bedminster Golf Club would host the 2009 Junior Amateur and Girls' Junior Amateur championships was "phase one" toward his goal, Trump said.
In 2012, the USGA struck again, naming the Bedminster course as host for this week's U.S. Women's Open. At that time, Trump reiterated his end game prize.
"All I can do is provide the canvas," Trump said five years ago. "If the decision is ever made to do it, I know it will be fantastic. It's right next to New York. It's a great course."
Trump added then that a U.S. Open selection would be his "first choice."
It appeared at first in 2007 that Trump's trademark braggadocio might backfire on him in seeking that major event. In an interview with USA TODAY, Trump said that USGA executive director David Fay, who was based at the nearby USGA Hall of Fame in Far Hills, was a member at Bedminster, that he "plays frequently," and that the lockers of Trump and Fay faced each other in a private corner of the clubhouse.
But Fay told golf.com that he was just an honorary member (dues are a reported $300,000 annually), he had played at the course "exactly once," and that as far as he knew he had no locker there.
Fay retired in 2010, and Mike Davis _ who runs the USGA tournaments _ continued to express his fondness for the Bedminster site.
Trump, not surprisingly, predicted a decade ago that someday he would get his big prize _ a U.S. Open at Trump National Bedminster.
"I might be an old man, being wheeled around _ or even dead," Trump said. "But it'll happen."
