In a first, 14-time Major winning Tiger Woods has played a round of golf with US President Barak Obama.
Obama spent the weekend in Florida firstly taking lessons on Saturday from Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon before joining Woods on Sunday.
A White House official confirmed President Obama played alongside Woods, although media have not been allowed on the resort since the President’s Friday arrival to view any activity.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and the property’s owner, Jim Crane, were also on the course, according to the official. Crane is a former Obama donor and the owner of the Houston Astros baseball team.
Tiger Woods meets President Obama a few years ago at the White House.
Obama continues a long line of US Presidents to enjoy playing golf despite only taking up the game in recent years, and despite previously describing himself as only an average duffer. His love of the game is well known however; as of last summer he had played more than 100 games since obtaining the presidency.
Obama, who is the first left-handed playing President, has occasionally drawn criticism from opponents for the amount of time he’s spent on golf courses, mostly complaints that it is time wasted away from the Oval Office. But he is far from the golf record holder among U.S. presidents. That goes to Woodrow Wilson, who historians note played 1,200 rounds during his presidency. Former President Dwight Eisenhower takes second place at 800, according to his memorial commission.
Golf Digest reported that Obama spent eight hours with Harmon, during which he played 27 holes and hit balls in Harmon’s studio, and then managed to coordinate Sunday’s round with Woods. The report said the original plan called for Obama and Woods to play at Woods’ home club — The Medalist Golf Club, a half-hour away in Hobe Sound — but they eventually opted for the Floridian Club.
Woods departed after the first 18 holes, but Obama stayed on to play another nine, the report said.
“Just to see the interaction between the two on the range was pretty neat,” Harmon told Golf Digest.
“The President said to Tiger: `The last tournament you played was fun to watch. It’s good to see you play well again.’ You could tell he meant it. It just wasn’t a throw it out compliment.”
It seems Obama and Woods — the first black men at the top of their respective fields — have spent the past few years inching toward Sunday’s meeting on the fairway.
The two met in January 2009, during Obama’s inauguration in Washington. Four months later, in April, Woods visited the White House and Obama welcomed him into the Oval Office.
Woods’ personal life imploded later in 2009 after revelations that he had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, leading to divorce. He followed with a public apology and announced he was taking an indefinite break from golf. Shortly after Woods announced he was coming out of seclusion, Obama said in an interview with Fox News Channel that Woods will still be a “terrific” golfer despite his personal issues.
After returning to the sport, Woods went two years without winning, but his game is back on track and he currently is ranked No. 2 in the world. Woods won the last tournament he played, three weeks ago in San Diego.
The president is in Florida while first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are on an annual skiing vacation out West. He arrived late Friday and was due to return to Washington on Monday night.
