Donald Trump accused of 'cheating at the highest level' when he plays golf
Donald Trump has been accused of 'cheating at the highest level' when he plays golf and honestly, are we all that surprised?
It's no secret that the former US President is a fan of the sport, so much so that he owns a whopping 17 golf courses around the world.
Pro golfer Jack Nicklaus once said Trump 'loves the game of golf more than he loves money', which is quite the statement.
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What's more, he has a reported handicap of 2.8. For those not familiar with the sport, this would put him in the top 5 percent amongst American players.
Considering a majority of the US Presidents have enjoyed the game, it's quite the feat that Trump earned the top spot in Golf Digest's POTUS ranking.
But while there's no denying his love for golfing, he's been at the centre of a number of cheating allegations over the years.
In fact, sports writer Rick Reilly, who has played with Trump in the past, wrote an entire book about his alleged cheating titled Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.
Speaking about the businessman's supposed handicap, Reilly says: "If Trump is a 2.8, Queen Elizabeth is a pole vaulter."
In a separate segment, he quipped: "To say 'Donald Trump cheats' is like saying 'Michael Phelps swims'...
"He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching and he cheats when they aren't. He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that's how he plays golf."
Reilly added: "If you’re playing golf with him, he's going to cheat."
It doesn't get much clearer than that.
Oh, and in a conversation with CNN, Reilly even suggested Trump once lied about nearly tying with Tiger Woods.
"He tried to cheat Tiger Woods in a match," he said. "[Trump] hits two balls in the water, doesn’t count either, and pretends that he almost tied Tiger Woods."
And it's not just the sports writer who has accused Trump of being a cheat, as Samuel L Jackson made similar claims back in 2016.
The Pulp Fiction star said he played a few games with the former President, and when asked who the better golfer was between the two, he replied: "Oh, I am, for sure. I don't cheat."
Trump responded to the interview in Trump fashion, taking to Twitter to write: "I don’t know @SamuelLJackson, to best of my knowledge haven't played golf w/him & think he does too many TV commercials—boring. Not a fan."
Rock star Alice Cooper made a similar statement in a 2012 interview with Q magazine.
"The worst celebrity golf cheat? I wish I could tell you that. It would be a shocker," he said. "I played with Donald Trump one time. That’s all I’m going to say."
Listen, we can't say definitively that Trump cheats at golf, but with all of these testimonies from trusted sources... well, we'll leave it up to you to decide.
Topics: Donald Trump, Golf, Sport, US News
Daisy Phillipson