In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper, the LPGA pro Suzann Pettersen accused President Donald Trump of cheating on the golf course.

The 15-time LPGA Tour winner described Trump's penchant to ask for so-called gimmes on the green, as well as his ball's curious habit of always finding the fairway no matter how far into the woods it initially looked off the tee.

Pettersen says she still has a fondness for Trump based on their time together on the golf course over the years.



A recent interview with the LPGA pro Suzann Pettersen has added more fuel to long-standing skepticism of President Donald Trump's self-proclaimed golfing prowess.

Speaking with the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, Pettersen, a 15-time LPGA Tour winner, said Trump tended to fudge the numbers on the golf course, describing his errant drives and their curious habit of always ending up on the fairway.

"He cheats like hell," Pettersen said, adding: "So I don't quite know how he is in business. They say that if you cheat at golf, you cheat at business. I'm pretty sure he pays his caddie well, since no matter how far into the woods he hits the ball, it's in the middle of the fairway when we get there."

Pettersen also said Trump often relied on so-called gimmes to avoid missing a decisive putt.

"Yes, yes, that happens all the time, Pettersen said. "He always says he is the world's best putter. But in all the times I've played him, he's never come close to breaking 80."

She added: "But what's strange is that every time I talk to him he says he just golfed a 69, or that he set a new course record or won a club championship some place."

Still, Pettersen says she's fond of Trump, whose relationship with her developed over many years on the golf course before the reality-show star made a run at the presidency.

"I've got to know Trump so well that I don't take everything he says literally," she said. "Yeah, you'll never meet another person who loves himself as much as he does, but I have also met him on another level altogether, before he was president. I know how much he cares."