Everyone knows Donald Trump loves to play golf. Every moment he can, he gets out of the White House to make the rounds at one of his private courses.
And everyone also knows Mr Trump is very touchy about his skills as a golfer. The New Yorker famously recounted a story of the now President calling one of its writers to insist he had shot a round of 71 when the journalist believed otherwise.
But now it has been claimed the President “cheats like hell” on the golf course, an allegation apparently levelled at Mr Trump by no other than a former golfing partner and 15-time LPGA Tour winner Suzann Pettersen.
The Norwegian player told the Verdens Gang newspaper: “He cheats like hell so I don’t quite know how he is in business.”
“They say that if you cheat at golf, you cheat at business. I’m pretty sure he pays his caddie well, since no matter how far into the woods he hits the ball, it’s in the middle of the fairway when we get there.”
Pettersen, 36, later said on Twitter she had never made the comment and that her words had been twisted.
The newspaper said her relationship with Mr Trump went back more than ten years and that she was fond of him even if she did not agree with all his policies.
Mr Trump claims to have a handicap of 3, something experts say is a considerable achievement for someone aged 71.
Pettersen said she was a little sceptical of that figure. “I don’t know anyone who digs himself more than he does,” she said.
She added: “But what’s strange is that every time I talk to him he says he just golfed a 69, or that he set a new course record or won a club championship some place.
“I just laugh. I’m someone who likes being teased and I like teasing others, and Trump takes it well, and that must be why he likes me.”
The White House did not immediately respond to enquiries from The Independent.
However, Pettersen subsequently claimed her words had been twisted.
“Sometimes you do interviews and media will twist whatever word/ saying to make a headline,” she said on Twitter.
“It’s shocking to see...this is what I would call #fakenews Why would I call someone a cheat....never!”
