Cameron Young praised Donald Trump after winning the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, angering some of the president’s critics. (Watch the video below.)
But what Young exactly meant is for fans of all stripes on social media to take a look.
The winner received applause, a thumbs up and later a handshake of the president after his six-stroke victory.
He summarized his feelings to the press.
“He is nothing but a very, very interesting man,” Young said in a clip that went viral. “He’s very powerful and it’s an honor to play for him. I’m very grateful to him and his family and his organization that has these beautiful properties and allows us to come and play great golf tournaments on them. This is a special place and a great championship golf course, and I’m grateful that this is back on the schedule.”
The comments caused outrage from some fans, and a few even suggested that they would withdraw their support from Young.
Others said the words were careful fluctuations bee diplomacy to stay out of political trouble.
However, one moment on the court seemed to definitively separate the professional from the president.
Young called a penalty of 1 stroke for himself for unintentionally causing a stationary ball to move in the fairway.
Trump is not exactly known for his outspokenness about the left. He was the subject of a book called “Commander in deception: How Golf Explains Trump.” The author, famed sportswriter Rick Reilly, said Trump cheats on the track “like a mafia accountant” and that club championships, in his view, are as “fake as Velveeta cheese.”
The Washington Post noted that the tournament, the PGA Tour’s first in a decade at Trump National Doral, “more sparsely attended than other PGA Tour eventspossibly due to Trump’s involvement, the intermittent rain on Sunday and the absence of some top players such as reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy.”
The official reason Trump National Doral hasn’t hosted a tour event since 2016 is sponsorship issues, but the Post claimed the outcry over Trump’s derogatory attitude toward immigrants, especially Mexicans at the time, couldn’t be ignored.
