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Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump gives rambling speech about trophy wives, golf and the ‘great late' Al Capone in politically-charged West Point address
President Donald Trump gave a politically-charged, rambling speech about DEI programs, golf and Al Capone while addressing the 2025 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Trump's Saturday morning address in West Point, New York, stretched on for over an hour. The speech was originally focused on West Point graduates and their accomplishments, but Trump soon turned toward other topics. The commander in chief of the U.S. military used his keynote address to highlight his efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the country. He claimed to have 'liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings,' and said there will be 'no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody.' This follows his January executive order that sought to deny the existence of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people throughout government. "The job of the U.S. Armed Forces is not to host drag shows to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun,' he said. 'The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime and any place.' West Point disbanded several clubs based on race, ethnicity and gender in the wake of Trump's anti-DEI executive order earlier this year. These groups included the Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Native American Heritage Forum, the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers Club. Trump, wearing a red cap featuring his political slogan 'Make America Great Again,' went on to praise his administration's crackdown on immigration. This comes just hours after a federal judge ordered the administration to return a Guatemalan man 'wrongfully' deported to Mexico. 'Our country was invaded for the last four years, and they've allowed people to come into our country that shouldn't be, they shouldn't be here…We're getting them out and bringing them back where they came from,' Trump said. 'Hopefully the courts will allow us to continue,' he added. 'You know, we had the greatest election victory. This was November 5. We won the popular vote by millions of votes.' Trump also brought up some of his favorite famous names, including retired professional golfer Gary Player. 'To be really successful, you're always going to have to work hard,' Trump said. 'An example is a great athlete, Gary Player, great golfer. He wasn't as big as the other men that were playing against him. Great, big, strong guys. Gary was a smaller guy. 'He's a friend of mine, he gets a little angry at people. He hits the ball just this far,' Trump continued. 'He said, 'I hit the ball further than them. Why am I small?' But he worked very, very hard. He was always doing exercise. He was always he was well ahead of his time. He never stopped.' Trump then pivoted to a discussion about real estate developer William Levitt, who is widely considered the inventor of the modern American suburb. Levitt died in 1994. 'He was great at what he did,' Trump said of Levitt. 'You see him all over the country, still Levittowns. This was a long time ago, but he was a first of the really, really big home builders, and he became very rich, a very rich man, and then he decided to sell. 'And he sold his company, and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well, but it doesn't – that doesn't work out too well, I must tell ya. A lot of trophy wives.' The president also spoke about his past legal challenges, claiming he was investigated more than the infamous mob boss Al Capone. Trump made this comparison several times on the campaign trail last year. Last spring, he also made history by becoming the first criminally convicted former president. 'I was investigated more than the great late Alphonse Capone,' Trump told the West Point graduates. 'Alphonse Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I'm talking to you as president. Can you believe this?' Trump left the ceremony before noon and flew to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The Herald Scotland
23-05-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Caddie Daniel Mulvey avoids jail for sexual communications with child
He had earlier met the girl and her friend near Glasgow's TRNSMT music festival where he asked for her details. Mulvey, of West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, then contacted her that night to tell her that he would have sex with her. When informed of her age, Mulvey told the girl that he "actually didn't care" and wanted to " be your first." He was snared after the girl's "concerned" aunt secretly recorded the conversation. Mulvey was regarded in the top bracket of his profession having worked alongside stars such as Gary Player. Mulvey has caddied at major tournaments such as The Open and the DP World Tour. He has also been pictured alongside US President Donald Trump and golf legend Padraig Harrington. Mulvey's illustrious career faces ruin after he pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to a single charge of sending written sexual communications to the girl. Sheriff Iain Fleming ordered Mulvey to do 150 hours of unpaid work at today's sentencing. Read more crime and courts in The Herald: Mulvey was also put on the sex offenders register and under supervision for 18 months. Mulvey was given a police escort from court after he was berated by members of the public as he initially tried to leave the building. The court earlier heard that the girl and her friend met Mulvey while they took shelter from heavy rain near to the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow Green. The girl did not tell Mulvey her age of name but he "believed her to be slightly older." Mulvey gave the girl his mobile phone and asked for her Snapchat username. She passed him the details and she left the scene without meeting again. The girl went to her aunt's house later that night. Her aunt noticed that the girl was communicating on Snapchat with someone called 'Dan.' The aunt became 'concerned' and discreetly recorded the conversation on her mobile phone. The girl later told her aunt that she met Mulvey at TRNSMT. Mulvey stated to the girl that he 'honestly' would have sex with her and he 'meant it.' He added: 'I can't stop looking at your pictures, I'm in bed thinking about you.' When the girl told Mulvey that she was 14-years-old he replied: 'Actually don't care that you are 14 by the way, you are so good.' The chat continued into the early hours of the morning when Mulvey asked if she was a virgin. He also stated: 'I want to be your first.' The matter was reported to the police and officers were able to link the phone number and email on the Snapchat account to Mulvey. Mulvey was arrested by police at Manchester Airport on December 14 and taken to a police office in Glasgow.
The Citizen
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Six South Africans to tee it up at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow
It is the year's second Major and a title won by only one South African previously — Gary Player. Erik van Rooyen is one of six South Africans in the PGA Championship field. Picture:Unlike at the Masters last month when South Africa had just three players in the field at Augusta National, the country will at least have six men teeing it up at the year's second Major, the PGA Championship, from Thursday. Xander Schauffele, who won his first Major trophy at the PGA Championship last year and later went on to win a second Major, the Open title, in July, will again be one of the favourites this week, but in a field of 156 players starting at Quail Hollow Club, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday anyone could really lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. The six South Africans in the field are Christiaan Bezuidenhout, a regular now on the PGA Tour and in Major tournaments, Dean Burmester, the LIV Golf player who won the Miami tournament earlier this season, Garrick Higgo, who won his second PGA Tour title three weeks ago, Thriston Lawrence, who's in his debut season on the PGA Tour, Erik van Rooyen, a two-time PGA Tour winner, and SA Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner, Daniel van Tonder. All six men are in good form and have the hunger to be South Africa's next Major winner; the last Major triumph coming back in 2012 when Ernie Els won the Open in England. McIlroy and LIV Golf players the favourites Somewhat surprisingly South African golfers have not enjoyed the PGA Championship like some of the other Majors over the years. Gary Player is the only South African to have won the title, in 1962 and 1972. Nick Price of Zimbabwe also won it in 1992 and 1994. While Rory McIlroy is a big favourite this week, following his win at the Masters in April to complete the Grand Slam, several other players besides Schauffele need to be taken seriously. Scottie Scheffler, who won on the PGA Tour two weekends ago, Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry have all played solid golf in recent times, and then there are the players from the LIV Golf Tour. Here one thinks of Joaquin Niemann, a three-time winner on that tour this season, Bryson DeChambeau, who was in contention for so long at the Masters, Brooks Koepka, three-time winner of the PGA, Jon Rahm, who'll be desperate to win another Major, and Cameron Smith, the former Open winner. In total there are 16 LIV Golf players in the field.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Masters 2025: Legends of the game pick Rory McIlroy to win
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The honorary starters at the Masters — with a combined 11 green jackets and 140 starts at the Masters between them — know greatness when they see it. And all three of them see greatness in 2025 in one player in particular. 'I think Rory McIlroy will win the Masters this year,' three-time Masters winner Gary Player said, 'and I hope he does because it would give golf a great boost to have another winner of the Grand Slam.' 'I just have a gut feeling that Rory is the guy that's going to win this week,' two-time Masters winner Tom Watson added. 'That's the bottom line. That's my gut feeling.' 'Ditto,' Jack Nicklaus said with a laugh. The three legends gathered after beginning the Masters, as is tradition, with three ceremonial tee shots. Their annual post-shot news conference was a mix of nostalgia, humor, perspective, wisdom and a touch of saltiness … as is also tradition. During their half-hour-long news conference, Player, Watson and Nicklaus held forth on a range of topics, from pace of play (Player: 'Slow play is a curse for golf') to the LIV/PGA Tour split (Watson: 'I don't see a real working mechanism for the two tours to get back together') to Tiger Woods (Nicklaus: 'I believe he'll probably play the Senior Tour and I believe he'll probably dominate the Senior Tour.'). When the course of the conversation wandered around, briefly, to this week's actual tournament, the consensus was unanimous: This is McIlroy's time. He famously won four majors by the age of 25, something only Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had done. But since claiming the PGA Championship in 2014, McIlroy hasn't won another major. Now, though, Nicklaus thinks McIlroy is dialed in to finally win at Augusta, the one major he hasn't won. Nicklaus recounted how he sat down with McIlroy last week and discussed the nuances of the course, covering each hole on the course. 'We went through it shot for shot. And he got done with the round, and I didn't open my mouth,' Nicklaus said. 'And I said, 'Well, I wouldn't change a thing. That's exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.'' 'He went to Jack for advice on how to play this golf course,' Player said. 'Nobody knows better than Jack.' To Nicklaus, McIlroy has lacked discipline at times on the course, allowing a rough hole or two to sneak its way into the mix … and if that rough hole comes late in the day on Sunday, it's all the more painful because of McIlroy's potential. 'He's got all the shots. He's got all the game,' Nicklaus said. 'He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game.' 'He's had his adversities, his opportunities to win majors and let them slip. I think his time is right,' Player said. 'I think it's just the right time for him to win now.' Nicklaus offered up a caveat to his McIlroy pick, and a large one: 'Obviously, Scottie Scheffler is just coming back in again, he's a defending champion, there's nobody playing any better in the game than Scottie,' Nicklaus said. 'Between the two of them, I think you're going to find your winner.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Masters 2025: Gary Player, now 89, is living life better than everyone in his latest trip to Augusta National
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Gary Player strolled up to the tee box at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday morning, bright and early, without a care in the world. He tipped his hat to the crowd of fans packed around the ceremonial first tee shot that officially opened the 89th edition of the Masters, took one brief practice swing and fired. Happy with his shot, Player picked up his tee and then launched into a karate kick that sent his right leg higher than anyone at 89 years old probably should have. Gary Player high kick. A tradition unlike any other. #themasters — The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2025 Player, even decades removed from the dominant runs of his career, was back in his element. 'I'm standing here for the 67th time, and I think the word is gratitude, just being here,' Player said. 'It's an honor to be at this, as the Scottish people say, the holy ground.' Player's attitude on Thursday morning was nothing new nor out of the ordinary, either. He absolutely thrived on Wednesday during the annual Par 3 Contest at the Masters. He was running around the short course, cracking jokes with fans and other players and even dancing. Remarkably, his game hasn't slipped much either. Player, who sent his tee shot on Thursday morning up the left side of the fairway and would've had a great angle at an approach had he been playing the hole for real, was throwing darts left and right throughout the Par 3 Contest. He even came extremely close to an ace at one point. 8 décadas y 9 años pero Gary Player sigue intacto. #elmasters — El Masters (@TheMasters_ES) April 9, 2025 Player accomplished plenty in the golf world throughout his career. He won 24 times on the PGA Tour. He won 22 times on the PGA Tour Champions, too. He also won nine majors, including three at Augusta National. The South African was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and he's widely considered to be one of the best golfers of all time, with an additional 118 international wins to his name. But it's what he's done after the height of his playing career that is keeping him going. Outside of being one of the best ambassadors for the sport, especially internationally, he is perhaps one of the fittest 89-year-olds on the planet. He actually went to India to meet with a gerontologist and came back with 11 things to work on, 'which I adhere to.' Player also balked at the idea that he would eat fast food of any kind. 'Well, you don't reach 90 as I do if you eat a bunch of crap,' Player said. He even credited his recent longevity to a new girlfriend, and the new outlook on life that relationship has brought him. He was married to his wife, Vivian, for decades. The couple had six children together, but she died after a battle with cancer in 2021. 'I've changed my life,' Player said. 'How about that, at 90, finding a girlfriend? … I'll tell you what guys, you all — you or your wife is going to die. One of the spouses are going to die, and it's not the end of life. 'So many people, that does happen, and they get so disheartened that they don't think they should continue life. The greatest gift bestowed upon a man or woman is life. So my ambition is to reach 100.' How much longer Player keeps showing up at Augusta each April to participate in the Masters festivities is anybody's guess. This was his 13th year participating as an honorary starter. But as long as he's physically able, Player will be around. 'I might drop dead tomorrow, but I'm giving it a hell of a try,' he said. Nobody is living life better than Gary Player.
