Donald Trump’s latest golf victory at his Bedminster course has renewed scrutiny of his long-running claims about his success on the golf course.
Sportswriter Rick Reilly detailed decades of skepticism around Trump’s golf claims in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, where he revealed the accounts of a former caddie who accused the president of cheating.
Former caddie allegedly claims staff had to ensure Trump won
Reilly wrote that he spoke with a former Trump caddie who reportedly described an understanding among the people who worked around the president’s golf game.
“Everybody knows the deal. He has to win the tournament and shoot the lowest score. It’s your job to make sure,” the former caddie alleged.
Reilly also claimed that Trump’s caddies sometimes helped him during rounds by improving difficult lies or picking up short putts instead of requiring him to finish the holes himself.
Though Reilly’s words remain allegations for now, they add to the discourse surrounding Trump’s latest win and his involvement in golf.
Trump celebrates Bedminster victory with a bold claim
Trump accepted trophies for the senior and super-senior divisions at Bedminster after his reported 70.
He then took to Truth Social to celebrate the result and wrote, “Won with a score of 70 and am so honoured in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practise, because I’m focused on many other things.”
He asserted, “It’s called TALENT and I have it and they don’t!”
Rick Reilly tracked Donald Trump’s championship tally
According to Reilly, Trump told him in 2000 that he had already won 12 club championships. The writer recalled saying, “No chance, Donald,” questioning how he could have amassed so many victories.
So the POTUS allegedly offered an unusual explanation, disclosing that whenever he bought or built a new golf course, he would play the first round alone and declare it the club championship.
Reilly tracked Trump’s claims as the numbers continued to rise. By 2013, the president said he had won 18 club championships, but per Reilly, he could not find evidence for six of the additional titles and cited instances in which Trump allegedly declared himself the winner despite unusual circumstances.
By 2024, Reilly’s unofficial count had reached 26 club championships. In August 2025, the number reportedly rose to 36 and later that year Trump reportedly told soldiers that he had won 38.
Reilly highlighted two particularly unusual examples. In one case, Trump reportedly won a Florida title despite missing the first day of a two-day event as he attended a funeral in North Carolina.
The sportswriter also pointed to another reported victory that Trump allegedly claimed while he was in Singapore meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The growing number has prompted Reilly to question how many of these wins have independent confirmation.
