Why Donald Trump is at the Ryder Cup as US President delays visit
Donald Trump is in attendance at the Ryder Cup, with the US President set to be at Bethpage Black on Friday as Team USA look to win back the trophy.
Come Friday afternoon, Donald Trump will be present at Bethpage Black for the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup, as Team USA aim to reclaim the trophy Team Europe won in Rome two years ago. The opening ceremony took place on Wednesday night, with Team Europe's captain Luke Donald criticising Team USA's Ryder Cup payment decision, while Collin Morikawa defended the stance.
Justin Rose also extended an invitation to the US President should Team Europe retain the Ryder Cup come Sunday in New York. However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul was booed a day prior to the opening ceremony. It remains unclear whether Trump will speak with the U.S. team ahead of their clash with Team Europe.
Despite this, World No.1 Scottie Scheffler believes a pep talk from the president could put him and his teammates in good standing at Bethpage Black.
"The president is kind of funny," Scheffler told reporters on Tuesday. "He loves the game of golf. He loves supporting golfers, and I get a call or a text from him sometimes after wins.
"He just loves the game of golf, and he's one of those guys when you're around him, he does such a good job of, like, feeding confidence into everybody around him.
"I don't think he has any plans to address us as a team, but I'm sure if things go well, we'll hear from him this week."
Trump recently attended the US Open tennis final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, causing a delay to the start of the match.
He was invited by Rolex as a sponsor of the Grand Slam, spending the final in their suite, but he is not thought to be attending as a guest of a sponsor at the Ryder Cup, instead watching on as a fan.
US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley also concurred with Scheffler, stating that Trump's presence at the event would be an honour. "I'm deeply honoured that the president of the United States is going to come support our team at the Ryder Cup," he said.
"I think anytime you can be around a current president is a pretty phenomenal thing, but when you're representing your country at a place like Bethpage Black in New York, having the president there to support you is something that is just absolutely incredible. I'm really grateful to him for doing that for us."
He added: "I think this first tee at Bethpage is going to be a sporting event to remember across any sport, and then you add on the president of the United States standing there, I really think it's going to be something that everyone will remember forever."
