DORAL, Fla.— The magnate who owns the Blue Monster was wearing red Tuesday morning while he provided The Post a tour around his pride and passion, Trump National Doral, where the world’s best golfers will play this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Donald Trump, in his trademark red ball cap with the golf club logo stitched onto the front, was — to borrow an often-used phrase from former Jets coach Herman Edwards — sweeping the corners, obsessed with every minute detail and demanding perfection.
We toured the grounds in a golf cart, with Trump proudly showing off all of the work he has had done in an extensive facelift to an iconic golf property that had become tired in recent years before his $200 million purchase.
The centerpiece of the renovation is the tournament course, the Blue Monster, redesigned by one of the most prominent and respected course architects in the game today, Gil Hanse.
The choice of Hanse to redesign the Blue Monster was weighted heavily by a conversation Trump had with Phil Mickelson, a supporter of Hanse’s work.
“I first consulted Phil two years ago,’’ Trump said. “He felt so strongly about Gil. That was important that I get player input and Phil was very influential. In fact, I told Phil, ‘Congratulations, I hired your recommendation.’ ’’
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While on the range, Trump approached Jim Furyk and his caddie, Mike “Fluff’’ Cowan, for a stop-and-chat and the two complimented the new course, telling Trump exactly what he loves to hear. “The golf course is difficult, but it’s fair,’’ Cowan said.
Furyk told Trump his room is in the newly-renovated and named “Tiger Woods Villa,” which is adorned with photographs of Woods dating back to his childhood days. Furyk noted there is a picture in his room of Woods hitting a tee shot in the 2002 U.S. Open, which Furyk won at Olympia Fields.
“I don’t mind a picture of Tiger in my room, because it was taken at the U.S. Open that I won,’’ Furyk joked to The Donald. “That’s got to be good karma.’’
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In a flash, we were off from the range to the “Tiger Woods Villa’’ to see the renovations. As soon as we walked through the automatic sliding glass doors, Trump pointed to our left at a large framed picture of Woods wearing his trademark Sunday red shirt, hitting a tee shot at the 2003 U.S. Open.
“I am that,’’ he said, alluding to the Woods photo, “in the world of real estate.’’
Trump marched us into one of the rooms, where a housekeeper was cleaning, to show off the renovation when we heard a baby crying outside in the hallway. The wife of Jamie Donaldson, one of the players in the tournament, was waiting outside a room door with a double stroller, locked out of her room.
Trump asked the housekeeper if she had a key to let the woman into her room. She informed him security would have to authorize that.
“I’m Donald Trump; I’m the owner,’’ he said. “It’s OK, I can vouch for her.’’
A moment later, we were outside the Woods Villas and Trump, unhappy some sidewalks were too narrow for golf carts to turn around on, demanded to speak to the construction worker in charge of it.
I waited for Trump to blurt out those famous words — “You’re fired’’ — but they never came. Instead, he sternly scolded the man and implored him to “use common sense’’ and fix the problem.
Moments later, we were passing through the valet area in front of the hotel and Trump became irritated there were outside lights on during the middle of the day and demanded someone find the switches and turn them off. “Doesn’t it bother you to see outside lights on during the day?’’ he asked me.
Sweeping the corners.
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Trump, who is about as passionate about golf as anyone you’ll meet, purchased the iconic golf resort three years ago and immediately put his vision into play.
The most dramatic changes Hanse and Trump made to the course are evident on the par-5 eighth hole, where the green now juts out into a lake as a peninsula, No. 9, which was a fairly easy and short par-3 and has had length added, No. 15, where the green is also surrounded mostly by water, and on No. 16, a short par-4 that begs players to hit driver or 3-wood over a lake to reach the green in one.
“It’s a brand-new course; we blew it up,’’ Trump said. “The land was so good that it would have been disrespectful not to do what we did … if you have the money.’’
Which, of course, he does, having a net worth of $3.8 billion according to Forbes.
“I used to come here many years ago with my father when I was very young,’’ Trump said. “I wanted to build the greatest golf resort in the United States. I wanted a big course, I wanted a glamorous course and I wanted a fair course.’’