Perhaps the most perfect Donald Trump’s golf story is the one where he won a golf tournament at his club he didn’t get to play in. It’s classic Trump: asserting his will on reality to make himself look good. It’s fitting, then, that the latest Trump golf controversy is over rounds of golf that he never even played.
According to multiple reports, Trump’s USGA account was hacked by someone looking to post unflattering scores and altering his much-preened-over handicap. The USGA runs a GHIN handicap system where golfers post their official scores. On Friday, four scores were posted under Trump’s name, all with scores in the 100s — 101, 100, 108, and 102.
Considering that Trump also claims he shot a 68 earlier in April, those ring as a bit high — although, Trump’s claim of a 68, given his well-known history of questionable golfing etiquette also raised a number of eyebrows. And posting them all at once, on a day where Trump was traveling and apparently didn’t golf, seems curious at best.
As Golfweek pointed out, the scores were posted on the same day at courses in very different locations.
Golfweek exclusively confirmed that the courses used in the fake scores were Trump National New York (100 and 101), Trump International in West Palm Beach (108), and the Cochise Course at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The scores were posted in the same manner that any other golfer or club in America can post, suggesting that a jokester has obtained access to Trump’s GHIN information.
According to Golfweek, the USGA determined that Trump’s USGA account was hacked. The USGA released a statement over the weekend that indicated they were looking into the “erroneously posted” scores.
“We have become aware of reports in the media questioning recent scores posted on President Trump’s GHIN account. As we dug into the data it appears someone has erroneously posted a number of scores on behalf of the GHIN user,” the statement said, referring to the Golf Handicap and Information Network.
“We are taking corrective action to remove the scores and partnering with our allied golf associations and their member clubs to determine the origin of the issue,” the statement continued.
It’s unclear if the 68 that was also posted is part of the hack, but as usual it’s clear that absolutely anything to do with Trump needs to be taken with a skepticism.
