Our 45th president, Donald Trump, is not modest about his prowess on the links. He once said: "There's very few people that can beat me in golf."
Maybe that's true. But in his visits to Northern California for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, that has not been the case. He's never won anything. The event, which pairs celebrities with PGA Tour professionals, takes place every February on the Monterey Peninsula.
He is not entered in this year's tournament, which begins today. But seven previous times, has accepted invitations to the event. His first appearance was in 1993 and his most recent one in 2006. His two-man team has never made the cut after 36 holes -- although technically, Trump is 0-for-6 because the 1998 Pro-Am's third round was washed out by bad weather and never replayed.
Because of the tournament's format, it is difficult to break down precisely how much Trump was responsible for those results. Amateurs do not submit their own individual scorecards. Only the two-man team score is recorded with the amateur receiving handicap strokes. The pro also keeps his own individual card. If the two-man team does not make the cut after round three, the pro plays Sunday's final round on his own.
Yet we can glean this much from the Pebble Beach record book: None of Trump's seven professional partners has been helped much by the partnership. The top finisher of the seven was Brian Claar in 2003. He finished the tournament in a tie for 42nd place. Davis Love III won that year.
Three of the other six pros failed to make the individual cut while playing with Trump. Fulton Allem was the second best Trump partner with a 45th place finish in 1998. Jim McGovern tied for 63rd in 2001. John Cook tied for 53rd in 2006.
Despite that overall mediocrity, future President Trump produced one moment of sublime glory at the AT&T, which is played on three different Monterey Peninsula courses. In 1993, he made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole at Spyglass Hill, using a 5-iron after he overrode pro Paul Goydos' suggestion of a 6-iron and instead followed the advice of a local caddie, "Rocket" Lytle.
My own memories of Trump at Pebble are minimal, probably because he was never playing with the tournament leaders. In brief encounters, I recall him being his usual brash self, hamming it up to the crowds. One amateur participant told me that Trump was very cordial when being introduced to the player's relatives. Another golfer just rolled his eyes when I asked what it was like being in his group. In other words, a mixed reaction, sort of like the American electorate.
Will Trump ever return to play at Pebble? It's unclear why he stopped coming after 2006. The invitation committee's ways are confidential and mysterious. Celebrities are often not asked back if they have been unkind to the crowds or volunteers, though there's no indication that ever happened with Trump.
But he does carry controversial baggage on the fairways, good-natured or otherwise. Samuel L. Jackson, the actor, once said that Trump cheats at golf. Rock star Alice Cooper and author Rick Reilly's similar insinuations were cited in a 2015 Washington Post "investigative" story on the topic.
In fairness, no one I've spoken with at Pebble has ever accused Trump of shaving strokes or other nefarious activities. Also, he is hardly the only high-profile politician who has been linked to fudging his scores. Former president Bill Clinton's penchant for taking extra mulligans has been well-documented.
If I'm making a guess, though? He'll be back one day. At least one other former president, Gerald Ford, played in the tournament after leaving office. Trump's company has developed or operates 18 resorts or courses around the world–"the greatest golf portfolio ever assembled by one man," according to the Trump Golf website.
For business and promotional branding purposes, he's bound to return one day to the Pro-Am field. Just probably not in the next four years.
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