Donald Trump Claims Tournament Win After Missing Opening Round

Former US President Donald Trump has claimed victory in a tournament that took place last week at his West Palm Beach Golf Club in Florida, even though he was 600 miles away at a funeral in North Carolina when it began.

However, missing the first half of a two-day event was apparently no obstacle to the 76-year-old's ability to triumph. But how did he achieve such an apparently impossible feat? According to the Mail, he simply took his score from a round he'd played two days earlier and told members that would count as the score for his opening round!

That was enough to hand Trump a five-shot advantage ahead of the (no doubt dumbfounded) overnight leader, and it proved insurmountable - something he wasn't shy about announcing via his social media platform, Truth Social, on the evening the tournament concluded.

He wrote: "A great honor to have won the Senior Club Championship at Trump International Golf Club, one of the best courses in the country, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Competed against many fine golfers, and was hitting the ball long and straight."

Trump went on to explain that, in his opinion, the "win" demonstrated he possessed the necessary strength and stamina to govern. He said: "The reason that I announced this on fabulous TRUTH is that, in a very real way, it serves as a physical exam, only MUCH tougher. You need strength and stamina to WIN, & I have strength and stamina – most others don't. You also need strength & stamina to GOVERN!"

Trump, who is a famously keen golfer, has been accused of cheating on numerous occasions in the past. For example, during his time in the White House, 2023 European Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen claimed he “cheats like hell” on the golf course. In the interview with Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, she even explained how he sometimes claimed to have won tournaments. She said: “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."

Not only that, but in 2019, the year after the interview, a book on “Donald Trump's lying, cheating and poor sportsmanship on the golf course,” Commander In Cheat by Rick Reilly, was nominated for Sports Book of the Year, only adding to the suggestion that Trump’s performances on the course may not always be as they appear.  

Nevertheless, even though accusations of cheating on the course are nothing new for Trump, where his latest stunt is concerned, it surely counts as among the most audacious.