Golfer Bryson Dechambeau has received backlash for a comment he made about Donald Trump while comparing him to Tiger Woods.
Dechambeau, a two-time major championship winner, has made around $80 million from his golf career and is an ally of Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States.
Dechambeau, first met Trump in 2017 and played a round with him, before later rubbing shoulders again while playing with his son Eric and Dustin Johnson in a pro-am round at the 2022 LIV Golf Bedminster event.
'The Scientist' was invited on stage during Trump's presidential election victory at the Palm Beach County Convention Center and also filmed a viral golf video with the 78-year-old at his Trump National course in Doral, Miami for his YouTube channel.
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Dechambeau was recently invited to the White House and hit balls off the South Lawn, as well as doing the same at Trump National in Lowes Island, Virginia.
During the activities, Dechambeau took part in a Q&A and spoke about Woods, a 15-time major winner and one of the very best golfers in history.
Woods, who is in a relationship with the ex wife of Trump's son Donald Jr, has also been to the White House before, receiving the medal of freedom and speaking at a Black History event.
In a video which was shared online, Dechambeau claimed that Woods and Trump had a similar type of aura and presence, stating: "I think in my era who I played with Tiger is the ultimate competitor and somebody that is rarely unfazed. I played with him in 2017, 2018 and 2019 timeframe.
"You could just tell there was a different presence - much like yourself Mr President. You walk into an area and it's just different. And he just had that aura about him."
Trump was nearby when Dechambeau made the remark and fans on social media slammed the comparison.
One user on X wrote: "Good Lord, why would he stoop this low? There is nothing admirable about Donald J. Trump."
A second simply commented: "Gross."
A third added: "May I throw up for a while?"
A fourth fumed: "Made me squirm with embarrassment at this sycophancy."
"We play golf a lot together, it's not a very pleasant experience for me because I always consider myself a reasonably long hitter," President Trump said. "My wife says, 'Are you as long as Bryson?' I say, 'Yeah sorta, pretty close - it's not close.'"
Donald Trump explains why he doesn't enjoy playing golf with Bryson Dechambeau
Trump and Dechambeau have spent plenty of time together playing golf and the President has named the two-time US Open winner as "probably the No. 1 golfer now".
However, while Trump is an avid golf player and rates himself rather highly, he doesn't always have the best time playing with Dechambeau because of how long a hitter he is.
"We play golf a lot together, it's not a very pleasant experience for me because I always consider myself a reasonably long hitter," Trump said. in Lowes Island.
"My wife says, 'Are you as long as Bryson?' I say, 'Yeah sorta, pretty close - it's not close.'"
Topics: Donald Trump, Golf
Josh Lawless