Back in March, a story took over the Twitterverse regarding the circumstances under which Donald Trump won the 2018 course championship at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Trump did not participate in the tournament — he cited the demands of the office of the presidency — which was won by a man named Ted Virtue. Instead, after running into Virtue, Trump suggested a playoff, won, and said they were co-champions, even if the plaque at the course says POTUS won.
As it turns out, Trump’s win may have came under some dubious circumstances. Rick Reilly, the author of the book Commander in Cheat, sat down with Vox’s Sean Illing to discuss his book and the president’s game on the links.
When asked about a story regarding Trump cheating on the golf course, Reilly returns to the game he played against Virtue. As the longtime sportswriter tells it, Trump might have taken some liberties with which ball was his. After sending his shot sailing into the water, Trump walked up to the green and said one of the balls sitting pretty belonged to him.
He didn’t claim ownership to Virtue’s ball, but instead, called dibs on the ball belonging to Virtue’s pre-teen son. You see, Trump challenged Virtue while he was playing golf with his child, who Reilly says is 10 or 11. After Virtue said he’d rather hit the links with his kid, Trump invited him to play, then allegedly stole his ball.
They get to a hole with a big pond on it. Both Ted and his son hit the ball on the green, and Trump hits his in the water. By the time they get to the hole, Trump is lining up the kid’s ball. Only now it’s his ball and the caddie has switched it. The kid’s like, “Daddy, that’s my ball.”
But Trump’s caddie goes, “No, this is the president’s ball; your ball went in the water.” Ted and his son look at each other confused, not sure if this is really happening. And Trump’s caddie says, “This is the president’s ball. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Trump makes that putt, wins one up, and declares himself the club champion.
Everyone who has ever golfed has lied a time or two, but even by that standard, this is one heck of a lie. All sense of honesty gets thrown out the window, apparently, when the opportunity to be named the 2018 Trump International Golf Club champion after the tournament had already occurred is on the line.
(Via Vox)
