Daniel Wolfram
Donald Trump keeps winning golf championships at his own courses. According to him, it is because he is very talented while his opponents are not. But all that winning comes with a lot of scrutiny and accusations of cheating.
Even though President Donald Trump is currently busy fighting a war in Iran, gearing up for the midterm election in November, and running the United States of America, he still has time for a golf outing.
And Sunday was a special one in New Jersey, because Trump had time to compete and ultimately win the club tournament at his own golf club in Bedminster.
Another golf victory
He announced the win on Truth Social with a video showing his final swing. The triumph earned him both the Senior and Super Senior titles.
Trump pointed out his natural ability. He explained that a busy schedule leaves him no time to practice, unlike his competitors.
“I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, because I’m focused on many other things. It’s called TALENT, and I have it, and they don’t!” Trump posted, according to The Independent.
Winning at home
Trump has a very strict rule when playing golf. The president only plays and wins tournaments at golf courses he personally owns.
He has not stepped outside his own golf properties to compete in two decades. The last time was back in 2006, when Trump played in the American Century celebrity tournament only to finish 62nd out of 80 celebrities. Since that defeat, he has not played outside his own golf courses.
But the constant winning streak continues to attract plenty of skeptics. Accusations of cheating follow him everywhere. In 2016, actor Samuel L. Jackson publicly claimed the politician cut corners.
The controversy grew so large that sports writer Rick Reilly published a 2019 book about it titled “Commander in Cheat.”
Kicking the golf ball like Pelé
One of the stories from that book has become infamous. Reilly claimed local staff at his courses knew exactly how Trump would handle a bad shot.
“At Winged Foot, where Trump is a member, the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: Pelé,” Reilly wrote.
Even his closest allies have joked about his methods. The New York Times reported that the late Senator Lindsey Graham discussed the matter in 2022.
“Some people say you may outdrive him, but you’re not going to outdrive his caddy. It is what it is,” Graham said.
