Farmingdale, N.Y. – The last time I talked to Donald Trump was on the eve of the 2022 PGA Championship in South Hills between Trump I and Trump II. I’ve played a lot of golf with Trump, and it’s all easy to run for president long before he first ran for president, which is very easy. I asked him how he was doing.
“As Scotty,” the former and future president said. Scottie Scheffler, then the master champion of dominance. They just played together in Dallas where Schaeffler lives.
I resist.
The 45th and 47th presidents of the United States visited on Friday at the Ryder Cup, Bethpage Black, 25 miles from Trump’s childhood, a mansion on the Jamaica estate part of Queens. I don’t know if Trump has ever played Bethpage Black. He told me about the new round of Cobbs Creek playing in a city-owned course in West Philadelphia, and Trump said he attended his junior and high school student while attending school at the University of Pennsylvania, and he started at Fordham. Last month, Tiger Woods visited Cobbs Creek, where a massive renovation is underway and the Tiger Woods Learning Center was established.
Trump has played golf with various members of the European and American Ryder Cup teams – Bryson DeChambeau is best known for running deeply with his passion for golf, so it is no surprise that he has made the avid incoherent steroid visit Bethpage. His mother was born in Scotland, but there is no doubt that his rooted loyalty was in the 45th Ryder Cup. Who can forget President Trump’s joyful embrace of the American flag during his first term?
Halfway through, I once asked Trump if he could be the first course owner to become the host of the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup.
“It’s a very interesting question,” Trump said. He had a day in the wild and we revisited the subject time and time again. Try to promote different attributes through pages Sports Illustratedhe would usually say, Trump Bedminster is open for the United States and Trump DC plays the British Open for the Ryder Cup and Trump Scotland in Aberdeen. Turnberry has not yet had his name and stamps on the property. He likes this kind of playful conversation.
At the U.S. Open in 2009 at Bethpage Black, I watched in awe as Trump drove Rolls Royce to the clubhouse and parked his car there. No one stopped him. No one said anything. He has a connection.
When President Trump arrived at Bethpage Black late Friday evening, the entrance to Bethpage Black was closed, not Rolls Royce this time, but through Air Force One and the Presidential Convoy. He chatted with American players at the club, their captain and his assistant, and then did more on the first T-shirt at the start of the afternoon meeting. He was wearing a blazer. President Trump always wore pants when he played. He doesn’t believe in golfing in shorts. Over the years, most of his many competition partners have worn shorts to respect him as the president of the United States or the owner of the courses they are taking. Tennis, yes. President Trump stood alone by his side, watching carefully and without saying a word when DeChambeau played in the first serving area Friday afternoon. For a moment, the stage belongs to DeChambeau, who hangs around at Eric Trump, who won the 2020 U.S. Open, a longtime member. Trump sought a second term in California as Texan played shorts when Dechambeau joined Trump as part of his breaking 50 YouTube series. Trump drives a cart. DeChambeau’s job is to drive a 4-scroll green, or try it out.
Against the narrow backdrop of the international golf game, President Trump’s work on Friday afternoon was to bring sparks to the home team after the morning meeting ended. Americans lag behind Europeans 3-1 at lunch time, using a term loosely here. Justin Rose, a British man who won the 2013 U.S. Open, had lunch while walking to the first tee at his afternoon meeting, where President Trump served as a tournament receptionist, speaking in some way. The first T-shirt is the stage for the players. The 47th President of the United States is just another fan. OK, not really, but you get it.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments via michael.bamberger@golf.com.
