It should be no surprise that South Africa turned to Hall-of-Fame golfer Ernie Els to help ease diplomatic relations with the United States ahead of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s highly anticipated meeting with American counterpart Donald Trump.
Trump loves his golf, some would say even more than actually running the country. The so-called leader of the “free world” runs away to his Mar-a-Lago estate and the Trump International Golf Club in Florida every chance he gets.
Some Americans are upset about the amount of golf Trump plays, as it costs the tax payer millions every time he tees it up at his own resort. According to reports, Trump’s golf trips during his second term in office have already cost the American public just under $20 million.
Trump recently announced on Truth Social that he had won the club championship at his own course, despite not playing in the first round of the tournament. In that instance, Trump told tournament organisers he played a strong round two days earlier and decided that would count as his first-day score.
Every so often he tees it up with some of the biggest names in golf, including such superstars as Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.
Four-time Major winner Els, who also resides in south Florida, has also played with Trump numerous occasions and the two appear to have forged a close bond through golf. Trump has in the past also contributed Els’ autism charity foundation, the Ernie Els Foundation.
In February 2017, shortly after Trump was elected president for the first time, the two played together in a four-ball that also featured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Trump has been accused of cheating on the golf course in the past and a lot of people were skeptical about his hole-in-one at Trump International Golf Club in 2022. Trump actually said on a recent podcast with DeChambeau that he has made eight hole-in-ones …
However, Els, who now plays his golf on the US Senior PGA Tour, was right there when the ball dropped in the hole at the par-3 seventh in 2022, confirming that he had his contact lenses in when it went it.
“We’re all watching and I’m like, ‘this thing is looking good’,” Els, nicknamed the “Big Easy”, said afterwards. “It bounced and I got my contact lenses in. I saw it clearly.
“We throw our clubs in the air. You know, ‘it’s unbelievable.’ You play with the ex-president and he makes a hole-in-one. How many times does that happen? That’s the thing that goes through your mind.”
But Els has come in for some criticism from fans for his friendship with Trump, especially after he congratulated the United States president after his first inauguration, tweeting: “Congrats President Trump!!! Good Vibrations @realDonaldTrump.”
Within minutes the South African golf star was inundated with angry messages from his fans, who slammed him on social media for his support of Trump.
@JohnGoliath82
