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News.com.au
30-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Viral videos of Donald Trump cheating at golf are hilarious
Think of Donald Trump's second presidency, so far, as a par 5 hole at one of his more beloved golf courses. Heck, let's get specific and say Turnberry. He was there just this week, and Scotland's weather offers the appropriate level of bluster. Shot one (the early weeks): a clean drive, albeit one shaped with a fade far, far, faaaaaaaaaaaar to the right. Mr Trump strides confidently, even cockily, down the fairway. He is, by all accounts, pretty damn good off the tee. Shot two (the vacillating tariff policies): looking to lay up near the green, Mr Trump sends his first attempt skewing off into the trees. He takes a mulligan. Then another. Then another. Until finally, we get a ball on the fringe of the fairway, and the markets calm down. Shot three (immigration enforcement): a relatively easy shot, here. Most Americans support the deportation of criminals. But ....... oh no. He's overhit the darned thing, depriving people of their basic rights and chucking US citizens into detention. It sails over the green and yes, into a bunker. Nobody wants that. Such a pity. Shot four (the Big, Beautiful Bill): though it appears to defy physics, Mr Trump somehow manages to hit the ball backwards out of the bunker, ending up further away from the green than before. Tortured metaphor for his ballooning of America's national debt, there. Shot five (the Epstein files): a palpably frustrated Mr Trump hacks at the ball and sends it ricocheting into his own caddy's face, infuriating the very person whose tireless support got him to this position in the first place. At this point Mr Trump picks up his ball, hops on his golf cart and speeds to the next hole, saying, 'Wow! An eagle!' And his entourage, ever obedient, applauds. 'Great shot, sir!' Bit of a caricature, maybe, of Mr Trump's politics. But not of his golfing habits. The videos that went viral this week from his trip to Scotland, which showed him cheating quite blatantly, represent a single grain in the sand of a truly cavernous bunker. The man is a chronic, prodigious, shameless cheater, as we shall explore below. Mr Trump's golfing occupies a peculiar space in what we might call, with rolling eyes, the 'discourse'. Obviously, it doesn't matter. You won't find a single voter who cares whether the guy shot a 71 or a 95 on Saturday. And yet it's illustrative. His serial cheating on the links speaks to something deeply embedded in his character, something that does matter. Here's the fundamental question. Donald Trump is, genuinely, a good golfer. Everyone who knows the sport, and has either played with him or caddied for him, acknowledges that. Look at this drive! He has a great handicap, even by the standards of someone who plays so often. Most experts who've observed him put it at 10, or maybe a touch lower. That's impressive! And at the age of 79, no less. (Mr Trump himself insists his handicap is, preposterously, below 3, which is equivalent to claiming Madagascar is in the Atlantic.) Why then, does he cheat so brazenly, and so relentlessly? He doesn't need to! Therein lies the great mystery. 'And how can he be so shameless as to cheat right in front of people?' sportswriter Rick Reilly wondered in his 2019 book on the matter, Commander in Cheat, a tome long on my to-read list, which I finally found an excuse to inhale after this week's videos. 'They call him on it, but he just shrugs and cheats some more. It's ruined his reputation in the golf world. Ninety per cent of the people I interviewed – on and off the record – say he openly cheats. A lot of them said they stopped playing with him because of it. 'So why? Why cheat? Why lie? Why exaggerate his handicap, his scores, his club championships?' (Mr Trump claims to have won almost 20 golf championships, all but two of which are so baseless as to be deemed laughable by Mr Reilly. And those other two are dubious as well. More than once, the President has demanded to be named the winner of a tournament even though he was in a different state when it was held.) The book includes a frequently hilarious collection of anecdotes from people who have witnessed Mr Trump's behaviour. You're struck by how brazen it all is. Everybody knows he's doing it. Everybody. No one is even remotely fooled. It's a decades-long running joke. The footage from Scotland shows a couple of examples. In one clip, a caddy surreptitiously drops a ball for Mr Trump just off the fairway – his actual shot having landed, presumably, in much dicier territory. Mr Trump drives up in his cart, which was trailing close behind, and approaches it as though nothing unusual has happened. Just a routine bit of skulduggery. In a second clip, Mr Trump drives up to a spot where there is no ball at all. He pretends to wipe away some stray grass, simultaneously drops a ball there, and then plays it, as though it had been sitting there the whole time. According to the stories Mr Reilly gathered, this is typical Trump conduct. A quote from women's golf professional Suzann Pettersen, who actually gets along reasonably well with Mr Trump: 'No matter how far into the woods he hits the ball, it's in the middle of the fairway when we get there.' A man named Bill Rayburn, who caddied for Mr Trump once at 'a celebrity' event: 'Even with a gallery, marshals and me standing there, he openly cheated at least 10 times. I stopped counting around the 15th hole.' NBA coach Doc Rivers, boxer Oscar De La Hoya and musician Alice Cooper are also among those who expressed their incredulity at Mr Trump's cheating. I could cite a dozen more from the book at least. In casual golf there's something called a 'gimme'. It's when your opponent acknowledges you will almost certainly make a putt, and just gives you the shot without making you play it. That's something your partner gives to you. Mr Trump calls gimmes for himself, not just for short putts, but sometimes for mid-range or long putts too. He's been known to grant himself gimmes for chip-ins, meaning the ball isn't even on the green. 'Did you just take a gimme chip-in?' asked one witness to this nonsense, Mr Reilly himself, during a round with Mr Trump. 'By the time I got my jaw refastened, he was driving off in the cart,' he recounts. Part of a chapter in the book is devoted to classifying Mr Trump's various cheeky tactics. Mr Reilly dubs one 'the invisible dunk'. 'This one time, I was in the fairway and he was right of the green, but a little bit down the hill,' one 'frequent guest in Trump's' playing groups told the writer. 'He didn't think anybody was watching, but I was. I saw him make a chipping motion from the side of the hill, but no ball came up. 'Then he walked up the hill, stuck his hand into the hole and pulled a ball out. It must have been a ball he had in his hand the whole time. Then he looks up and yells, 'I chipped it in!' I mean, who does that?' Another tale, here, from probably Mr Trump's favourite course, his own one in New Jersey. 'People like to tell about the time Trump hit one in the pond. Everybody saw it splash a good 30 feet from shore,' says Mr Reilly. 'When the group got up to the pond, the caddy says, 'Boss, your ball is right here.' It was sitting safely on the grass. 'Someone in the group yelled at the caddy: 'What did you do with your mask and flippers?'' Buy the book if you want more of these anecdotes. They are plentiful. The impression you have is of a man who will do anything possible, no matter how dodgy or brazen, to help him shoot a better score. And of a man who has precisely zero shame. I would like to think that most of us, having shanked a ball in front of multiple witnesses, would laugh about it and play on. Not this guy. He insists the shot was perfect, whatever your lying eyes tell you, and then shoots his next from the fairway, and then brags about making a birdie. But wait! That is not the end of his chicanery. Mr Trump is also notorious for fudging his scores, and for claiming titles he could not possibly have won. Mr Reilly recounts a day on which Mr Trump entered the clubhouse at a respected course, claiming to have shot a very impressive 68. He spent some time hobnobbing and boasting about the score, then left. The club's head pro summoned the caddies from Mr Trump's group into his office. 'Mr Trump said he shot a 68 here today. Is that true?' the pro asked. The caddies' responses were, in turn, 'no way' and 'no f***ing way'. At best, they said, Mr Trump had shot a 79. Probably worse, but the sheer volume of cheating made it hard to tell. 'There was so much trickery and fraud, it was impossible to know what he'd really shot,' writes Mr Reilly. 'The 68, they said, came with tosses, kicks, and golf balls getting free rides back to the short grass. It came with do-overs, takeovers, and floating mulligans. It came with very little sound of plastic balls actually going into little plastic cups.' The book starts with a relevant, if clichéd, quote from the English author P.G. Wodehouse (whose full, far more amusing name was Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse): 'To find a man's true character, play golf with him.' It sounds glib, even stupid, but ... yeah, actually. Sport is psychological. That is why it's more compelling than most scripted dramas. When a man is petty enough to rig a casual game of golf in his favour, and to do it as a matter of habit, year after year, you do start to consider how he approaches other aspects of life. The law, for example. The treatment of his tax affairs. The treatment of other human beings, outside the clubhouse. 'Trump doesn't just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card Monte dealer,' says Mr Reilly. 'He throws it, boots it, and moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozles and fluffs. At Winged Foot (a golf course where Trump is a member), the caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: 'Pele'.' One more story, because I'm sorry, but they're really very amusing. One of Trump's playing partners, NFL commentator Mike Tirico was competing with him on a par 5, and hit 'the 3-wood of his life'. 'The thing had the flag covered from the start. It crested the hill perfectly, and was going to be tight to the pin,' says Mr Reilly. 'Shocked at his sudden skill, Tirico high-fived his caddie and strode towards the green, his shoes barely touching the grass. 'But somehow, when they got there, the ball wasn't near the pin. It wasn't even on the green. It was 50 feet left of the pin, in the bunker. Unless it hit a drone and ricocheted sideways, there was no physical way it could have ended up there.' Mr Trump's reaction to this was to tell Mr Tirico 'lousy break'. Later, the future president's caddy came up to the commentator. 'You know that shot you hit on the par 5? It was about ten feet from the hole. Trump threw it into the bunker. I watched him do it,' the caddy said. Funny and pathetic, in equal measure. And another data point in our continuing, ever-grimmer assessment of Donald Trump's character.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
When did McIlroy last play Portrush..?
It would be easy to think an Open Championship at his home course would have dominated Rory Mcllroy's thoughts these past it would be an inaccurate assumpion to make. When did the Northern Irishman last play Royal Portrush?"Friday the whatever of July 2019," he said, dismissively referring to his second round the last time the event was on the Antrim coast. An event that started with an appalling tee shot and ended with McIlroy missing the cut."Harry was there last week," he added, referring to caddy Harry Diamond."They've added a little bit of length to a couple of holes - four and seven - and they've changed the seventh green but everything else is the same."
CBS News
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Here's who has qualified for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club
The field is nearly set for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. The best golfers in the world will be teeing it up next week for the 125th playing of the U.S. Open and from a Pittsburgh native to a number of past champions trying to win the championship again, there are plenty of big storylines to follow. The U.S. Open will tee off on June 12 and here are some of those big storylines to follow. Matt Vogt, a former Oakmont caddy qualifies for the U.S. Open Matt Vogt was among those who qualified for the upcoming U.S. Open during final qualifying on Monday. Final qualifying consisted of a grueling 36-hole competition known as "Golf's Longest Day." Vogt, who caddied at Oakmont for six years and now a dentist based out of Indianapolis, shot 68-68 at the Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington to earn medalist honors and a spot in the U.S. Open next week in his hometown. After qualifying for the U.S. Open, Vogt said Oakmont and the tournament being held in Pittsburgh means so much to him, but he tried to block out those thoughts while attempting to qualify. "It took every ounce of energy in my body to not think about that all day," Vogt said. A caddie turned dentist turned U.S. Open competitor! 👏 👏 👏 If you watch one Golf's Longest Day interview, make sure it's this one from Matthew Vogt. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 3, 2025 Vogt said he hasn't been at Oakmont since 2021 and hasn't seen the recent renovations at the course that have been implemented since then. "It was very hard then," Vogt said. "You know, I'm a different player. I'm a better player, I know that. But I'm playing with the best players in the world, so I will soak up every single second of that week and stay insanely present. It's just a dream come true." High School Junior Mason Howell qualifies for U.S. Open Another big storyline that came out of final qualifying on Monday happened at the Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta, Georgia as 17-year-old Mason Howell made big headlines. Howell, a high school junior who is committed to play college golf at the University of Georgia, qualified for the U.S. Open by shooting 63-63 and finishing 18-under par to earn his spot at Oakmont Country Club. "That was one of the greatest moments of my life," Howell said after qualifying. High school junior Mason Howell won the Atlanta U.S. Open qualifier with an incredible 18-under score over 36 holes. 😳🔥 📺 Golf Channel — Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 3, 2025 Howell, currently 8th in the American Junior Golf Association ranking list, earned his spot in the U.S. Open without making a single bogey across his 36 holes of final qualifying. Cameron Young qualifies for U.S. Open in playoff One of the higher profile final qualifying events was held at the Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Columbus, Ohio and featured some prominent PGA Tour names who were trying to earn a spot at next week's U.S. Open. Erik Van Rooyen earned medalist honors with a stunning 13-under par score, six shots better than the next player in the field, but the big storyline from the qualifier was the playoff for the final qualifying spot. Rickie Fowler and Max Homa, who was carrying his own bag, both shot 5-under par to earn their way into the playoff. This is what Golf's Longest Day is all about! 6x @PGATOUR winner Max Homa out here grinding 36 holes with his own bag on his back in an effort to play in his sixth-consecutive U.S. Open. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 2, 2025 Cameron Young also made the playoff, making a necessary birdie on the last of his 36 holes to move to 5-under as well. CAMERON YOUNG CLUTCH! A birdie on the first playoff hole and he's on to Oakmont! Homa, Fowler, Cole and Johnson are heading home. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 3, 2025 In the playoff, Young birdied the first hole, securing him a spot in the U.S. Open. Can Bryson DeChambeau go back-to-back? Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, last year's winner at Pinehurst, is aiming to become just the second back-to-back champion of the last 75 years, a feat achieved by Brooks Koepka in 2017 and 2018 and by Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951. PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 16: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States plays his third shot out of a greenside bunker on the 18th hole during the final round of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort on June 16, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. / Getty Images Should DeChambeau be able to repeat, he'll join a relatively exclusive club of players to win the U.S. Open three or more times that includes Tiger Woods, Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, and Willie Anderson. Phil Mickelson still chasing the career grand slam Can Phil Mickelson find lightning in a bottle to contend at this year's U.S. Open and complete the career grand slam? Mickelson would love to become the seventh all-time player to achieve the grand slam, already having won the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the Open Championship. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 15: Phil Mickelson of the United States hits out of a greenside bunker on the fourth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 15, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / Getty Images Six times a runner up at the U.S. Open, Mickelson has struggled as of late at major championships. Since winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2021, Mickelson has missed the cut in 10 of his 14 appearances at majors. In the four times he made the cut, he had a 2nd place and 43rd place finish at the Masters, 58th place finish at the PGA Championship, and 60th place finish at the Open Championship. Is Scottie Scheffler the favorite to win at Oakmont? When the players tee off at Oakmont next week, Scottie Scheffler will likely be the favorite to win the tournament. Scheffler, the world's No. 1 ranked player, is on a hot streak currently, having won three of the last four competitions he has played in. With wins at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the PGA Championship, and the Memorial, Scheffler has now been victorious 16 times on the PGA Tour since winning the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. DUBLIN, OHIO - JUNE 01: Scottie Scheffler of the United States acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2025 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 01, 2025 in Dublin, Ohio. / Getty Images In seven U.S. Open appearances, Scheffler has posted three top 10 finishes, including a tied for second place result in 2022 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Scheffler competed in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont as an amateur, but missed the cut. Former champions in the field at Oakmont Along with defending champion Bryson DeChambeau (2024 and 2020), a number of past U.S. Open champions will be in the field at Oakmont last week. Past champions in the field include: Wyndham Clark, 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club Matt Fitzpatrick, 2022 at The Country Club Jon Rahm, 2021 at Torrey Pines Gary Woodland, 2019 at Pebble Beach Brooks Koepka, 2018 and 2017 at Shinnecock Hills and Erin Hills Dustin Johnson, 2016 at Oakmont Jordan Spieth, 2015 at Chambers Bay Justin Rose, 2013 at Merion Rory McIlroy, 2011 at Congressional Lucas Glover, 2009 at Bethpage Black A full list of players who will be competing in next week's U.S. Open can be found here.
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Home Bargains is selling a £5 buy that makes ‘gardening a breeze' – and will save your back this summer
GARDENING can be a great way to spend a warm summer's day, but it can also quite a laborious activity. A budget buy can save you the back pain of moving pots and other heavier items this summer. So if you're someone with a keen green thumb but have always been put off by the body aches caused from hauling around your materials, don't worry. An affordable item from Home Bargains is guaranteed to make gardening an easier task. The Jardin Planter Caddy With Wheels is available in a set of two for just £4.98. According to the product description, this buy "makes gardening a breeze". "These lightweight caddies let you effortlessly move your heavy planters, giving you more time to style your garden just the way you like it," manufacturers said. You no longer have to strain yourself trying to move your heavy garden planters or pots. Simply place them on the planter caddy and let it do all the hard work. For extra ease, why not place your empty planter on the caddy and fill it to avoid any lifting. This easy step will give you more time to style and select the perfect spot in your garden. The caddy is described as "lightweight" and measures 18 centimetres in diameter, making it ideal for use with most planters. Grow your groceries - how to grow tomatoes from tomatoes! As well as preventing back strain and speeding up the process, these caddies have additional benefits. They can protect surfaces from scratches or leaks, keeping your floors and patios clean and intact. And since back pain is a common complaint among gardeners, especially older people, this budget buy may be just what you need. Home Bargains also has a budget-friendly buy that helps your knees while tending to your flower beds. The budget retailer is also selling a budget buy guaranteed to . Top 5 Spring Gardening Jobs *If you click a link in this boxout, we may earn affiliate revenue Nick Grey, Gtech Inventor and CEO shared the tasks to crack on with as Spring arrives. 1. Clean your garden Make sure to clear away all leaves, soil and plant debris from your patios and flower beds; this creates a healthier environment for new growth, especially as we get into the summer months. Gtech's Garden Safety Kit includes durable gardening gloves and safety glasses; perfect for comfortability whilst tackling those outdoor tasks. 2. Weeding Early Spring is the best time to tackle weeds; if you can introduce some regular weeding into your routine, you can guarantee a tidy garden all year round. 3. Hedge maintenance Spring is the ideal time to tidy up overgrown hedges and shrubs, as regular trimming ensures healthy growth and reduces pest issues. Using a tool like the Gtech Lightweight Hedge Trimmer can help to keep your greenery looking sharp and neat. 4. Composting Starting a compost heap this spring is a pro-active, cost-effective way to harness nutritious soil for your plants and recycle organic waste that will benefit the overall health of your greenery and foliage. 5. Look after your lawn Lawn care is hugely important in assuring your garden stays looking beautiful. Make sure to rake away any excess leaves and trim your grass routinely. Another garden light from the store is described as having a "cute" twist. And shoppers can also pick up a £9.99 novelty decor buy that adds character to flowerbeds. A £7 gardening gadget is also available from Home Bargains and is guaranteed to transform your lawn. Home Bargains shoppers can choose from a variety of 20 plants available for as little as £2.99. 2
