Rick Reilly, the former Sports Illustrated columnist, has accused Donald Trump of being the worst cheat in golf, describing the president's behaviour on the course as 'ugly'. In his new book, Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, Reilly details years of observing Trump's duplicity as a golfer.
Reilly told the Guardian that Trump's cheating includes kicking his ball so often that caddies call him 'Pelé', and taking a gimme on a chip shot. 'He'll cheat you on the course and then buy you lunch,' Reilly said. The author also criticised Trump for driving carts on greens and wearing ill-fitting clothes.
Reilly, who has known Trump for 30 years, recalled their first meeting at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in the late 1980s. Trump introduced him as 'the president of Sports Illustrated' and lied about others' achievements to make himself feel like a winner. 'His lies were hilarious until he becomes the most powerful man in the world. Then it got scary,' Reilly said.
Trump's claims of winning 18 club championships motivated Reilly to write the book. 'I soon discovered many of them are senior championships for guys over 60 or 70,' Reilly said. Harvard psychiatrist Dr Lance Dodes told Reilly that Trump exhibits 'all the traits of a narcissistic personality disorder'.
