Donald Trump, the former US president and potential Republican nominee in 2024, has claimed that he hit a hole-in-one while playing golf in the company of a number of professional players at his Florida club.
Trump, 75, who created numerous headlines for throughout his presidency due to his fondness for the sport, released a statement Monday to say that he sank an ace on the seventh hole of his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while playing alongside a selection of respected pros such as Ernie Els and Mike Goodes.
“Many people are asking, so I’ll give it to you now, it is 100% true,” Trump announced of his shot.
“I hit a 5-iron, which sailed magnificently into a rather strong wind, with approximately 5 feet of cut, whereupon it bounced twice and then went clank, into the hole.
“These great tour players noticed it before I did because their eyes are slightly better, but on that one hole only, their swings weren’t,” he added.
“I won’t tell you who won because I am a very modest individual, and you will then say I was bragging – and I don’t like people who brag!”
Taylor Budowich, who acts as a spokesperson for Trump, tweeted a video early Tuesday which appears to show the former president retrieving his ball from the cup.
The brief clip shows Trump approaching the hole to the sound of applause from his golfing partners.
“It's there!" he says, pointing out the ball. “That's great, thank you.”
Trump was estimated to have visited golf clubs almost 300 times during his four-year presidency. He is thought to have played a round of golf on at least 150 occasions during those visits, which were almost exclusively at properties owned by him.
He has been accused of cheating on the golf course by numerous people he has played with over the years – so much so that a book, 'Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump', was released in 2019.