Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood once called Donald Trump a "fantastic putter" after years of playing golf with the U.S. President in Florida.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Westwood recalled spending plenty of time on the course with Trump and praised his putting above all other aspects of his game.

“I lived in Florida from 2012 to 2015 and I actually played with Donald Trump quite a lot. Yeah. I used to get a text, ‘You doing anything this afternoon?’ And we go down and I go playing a two ball with him. So I've spent quite a lot of time with President Trump,” said Westwood on the UK radio station.

“As a golfer, he kind of gets it around the golf course in his own way. He's a fantastic putter. That's the biggest praise I can heap on him,” Westwood said.

Westwood is not the first golfer to have praised Trump’s game. The great Jack Nicklaus once said that Trump "loves the game of golf more than he loves money."

With a reported handicap as low as 2.8, according to Golf Digest, Trump has remained deeply involved in golf since taking up the game at Fordham University and is a frequent participant in pro-ams.

“For me and millions of people—men, women, young and old around the world—golf is more than a game. It is a passion," Trump wrote in the introduction to his 2005 book The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received.

Trump's influence on the sport is unmatched. Beginning in 1999, he acquired and developed golf courses worldwide, and by 2016, he owned 17 through the Trump Organization.

His courses have been the site of many PGA, LPGA, and LIV events, notably the 2022 PGA Championship and, more recently, the Cadillac Championship.

Trump On LIV Golfers Returning To The PGA Tour

Donald Trump was in support of LIV Golf players returning to the PGA Tour. According to the President, the addition of LIV golfers will enhance the Tour further.

"I do believe that all of the great golfers should be playing against each other. I want to see Rory [McIlroy] playing Bryson DeChambeau. I want to see big Jon Rahm playing Scottie [Scheffler].” said Trump.

The future of LIV Golf is filled with uncertainty, and thus, its players have started to look for pathways back to the American circuit.

"They have great players on the LIV. But it's almost like people want to see that. That's why the Masters were so good, because you saw everybody together,” he added.

With Brooks Koepka’s return and Patrick Reed close to one, LIV golfers are highly likely to be reinstated into the Tour. However, penalties are inevitable for them.

Follow Club Golf for more.

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav