Bernhard Langer, the two-time Masters champion, has said that Donald Trump called him to apologize for any misunderstanding after the golfer was caught up in one of the president’s confusing tales about alleged voter fraud.

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The 59-year-old Langer, who was born in West Germany and now lives in Florida, said the president called him personally and “he apologized if there was anything that hurt me”. Langer said he and the president were on “good terms”.

Last month, the New York Times reported on what they called a “troubled tale” featuring Trump, Langer and an unverified anecdote about voter fraud. According to the Times, Trump, during a reception at the White House, had told a curious story to illustrate what he believed to be unchecked voter fraud in November’s election. Langer, unwittingly, was caught up in it.

Trump has long complained that millions of people voted illegally in November, and said that “the very famous golfer Bernhard Langer” was in line to vote in Florida on election day, but was turned away – while others “who did not look as if they should be allowed to vote” were able to cast their ballots.

As the Times put it, “the anecdote was greeted with silence, and Mr Trump was prodded to change the subject.”

The trouble with the story was that Langer was never able to vote in the first place. Langer is a German citizen with permanent US residence who is, by law, not eligible to vote. “He is a citizen of Germany,” Langer’s daughter Christina said. “He is not a friend of President Trump’s, and I don’t know why he would talk about him.”

Three witnesses insisted Langer was the protagonist in Trump’s story, but a White House official later claimed Trump had been telling an off-the-cuff anecdote relayed to Langer by one of Langer’s friends.

It was all rather complex, and on Thursday, during a press conference for a PGA champions tour event, Langer attempted to clear up any confusion. He said by the time the story reached the White House, details had gotten fuzzy.

Langer said: “We talked on the phone. [Trump] was very clear. If there was any whatever, anything that hurt me, he apologized. And I apologized, too, for some of the quotes that were incorrect, and we’re on good terms.

“It was fun talking to him briefly, and I thought that’s a great gesture from him, because he’s got a lot of other things to be concerned about, not just, you know, this golfer Bernhard Langer. He’s got far more important things to do. But for him to take the time, talk to me for a brief while and clear things up is pretty amazing.”

Langer tried to explain how Trump’s version of events had come to be. He said: “I didn’t say anything to the president. We never talked. I told a story to a friend and the friend told a story to another friend and another friend and another friend. Somewhere down the line six people later somebody knew somebody at the White House and that’s how it went, OK?

“It’s kind of weird, because you’re being talked about without being talked to. Then you read the story and it’s not like it’s a fact, it’s like, oh, I heard this from so-and-so, and I have a source that told me this, and I have a friend that told me that.”