Sign up for our daily newsletter
Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.
Wayne Rooney has revealed he was surrounded by snipers in a surreal round of golf with former US President Donald Trump.
The Manchester United legend, now the new manager of Plymouth Argyle, recalled his round with Trump and former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, in an interview on The Overlap.
Rooney’s meeting with then-President Trump came during his time Stateside playing for D.C. United in the MLS.
• DP World Tour stars face new sanctions over “Fore!” shout
• PGA Tour star slams ‘unacceptable’ airline over club nightmare
“The maddest thing about it was we had Giuliani in the buggy behind us, then there were about 50-100 golf buggies that were all security,” Rooney recalled.
“There was a boat in the lake with snipers, there were snipers in the bushes, and I was like ‘what’s going on here?!’”
This bizarre encounter on the course was told in further detail last year by Rod Thornley, the ex-United and England masseur who became close friends with Rooney.
“Wayne was playing at D.C. United and I went down to see him,” Thornley explained on The Under the Cosh Podcast.
“We had a night out on the Saturday, and on the Sunday we went to play at the Trump National in Washington. We get to the course and there’s Secret Service everywhere. We get on the first tee and we’re told that the President was playing on that day.
• Leeds United cost Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas huge payday
• Pro questions whether Bryson DeChambeau is ‘genuine’
“He’s ploughing through the course and we get to about the 14th hole and the Secret Service come onto our hole when we’re about to tee off. They said ‘excuse me guys, you have to move aside, because the President is coming through. Please don’t talk to him. If he speaks to you then you can obviously speak to him back, but just leave him alone’.
“Wayne had actually been coaching Trump’s son Baron on the White House lawn leading up to this. Wayne had already been invited to the White House at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
“Sure enough, he comes around the corner shouting, ‘Wayne, how are you, Wayne!’ About three weeks before, Wayne had scored a hat-trick for DC United in a game they won 5-2.
“He’s come onto that hole and we’ve got like 20 buggies, including Mayor Giuliani, the New York mayor. He’s like his lawyer or something so he’s on the hole with him. He [Trump] went ‘this guy, yeah, last week, this guy, he scored five goals for DC United’.
“I’m looking at Wazza going, ‘go on, correct him’. Wayne’s like, ‘yeah, yeah I did’ and I was like ‘you lying b******’ lad. We played the next hole, the one after that, and then he carried on going.”
ALL ABOUT THE OPEN
More Reads
The bunkered Golf Course Guide - Scotland
Now, with bunkered, you can discover the golf courses Scotland has to offer. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
Find Courses