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By Shannon Power
Pop Culture & Entertainment Reporter
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Rick Reilly, who wrote a book claiming that Donald Trump cheats at golf, has challenged the former president to a game.
Reilly, a former Sports Illustrated columnist who wrote Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump about the former president's golfing exploits, suggested he play in front of officials from United States Golf Association (USGA) in order to prove his prowess.
It comes after Trump claimed to have won two elite tournaments at the golf course he owns in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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"It is my great honor to be at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach tonight, AWARDS NIGHT, to receive THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY & THE SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY. I WON BOTH!" Trump wrote earlier this month on Truth Social, his social media platform. "A large and golfing talented membership, a GREAT and difficult course, made the play very exciting. The qualifying and match play was amazing... Very exciting, thank you!!!"
Reilly who has known Trump for decades and had played golf with him multiple times, slammed his claims on X, formerly Twitter, previously writing, "Call us if you ever win one on a course you DON'T own and operate," suggesting Trump was able to fabricate his results as owner of the course.
This caught the attention of the media who questioned Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, about Reilly's ongoing criticism of the former president's golfing skills.
"Rick fantasizes about having a golf game as good as President Trump. But instead of putting in the hard work to improve his s---ty game, Rick allows his severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome to completely take over his life. He should seek urgent medical care before it's too late," Cheung told People on Wednesday.
Reilly did not waste the opportunity by taking to X on Thursday to write, "Fine. I bet $100k I can beat Trump on a course he DOESN'T own w/ USGA rules officials watching. (Hey, some white-collar prisons have courses.) #CommanderInCheat."
His reference to prisons was likely a jab at Trump who is facing multiple criminal indictments for election interference on the state and federal level, paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, and mishandling classified documents. The former president has maintained his innocence in all the cases against him.
When contacted by Newsweek, Cheung reiterated his previous Statement sent to People.
Trump has a self-reported golf handicap of 2.8, but Reilly claimed it was likely closer to a 10.
The handicap system in golf is a numerical measure of a golfer's skill, or potential ability and is used to allow players of different levels to compete against one another, according to Stix. The USGA is responsible for the recording, calculation and evaluation of golf handicaps.
"Donald Trump is the worst cheat ever and he doesn't care who knows," Reilly told The Guardian. "I always say golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man. And golf reveals a lot of ugliness in this president."
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Reilly also opened up on how Trump allegedly works the system to make him seem like a championship player.
"I've always said golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a guy," Reilly said during an appearance on Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace earlier this week. "And what it reveals about this guy is that he cannot lose. He has to win, and he will do anything to cheat."
He added: "What he does [is] he just calls in and goes, 'I usually beat that guy, give me the trophy.' And I know this because when I play with him, he goes, 'You know what I do to win these championships, don't ya? Anytime I buy a new course, I play the first round all by myself and then I declare myself the club champion.'"
Reilly also claimed he had heard stories from people who played with Trump that accused him of "kicking opponents balls into the bunkers," and driving in a "turbo-charged golf cart that goes three times as fast" as other players' so he has time to move balls around before anyone catches him.
Update 03/30/2024 13:38 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include Cheung's response to Newsweek.
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