Trump has golf championship plaque from tournament he never played

He reportedly challenged the real champion to a 9-hole face-off and won

(AFP/Getty Images)

Since becoming president, Donald Trump has frequently hit the links to play golf. And, if his country club locker is any indicator, he has been playing competitively.

Mr Trump’s locker at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, reportedly has a new plaque that mysteriously appeared dubbing hi the “2018 Men’s Club Champion”, according to Golf Magazine.

The only problem is that the president didn’t play in the championship tournament that year.

Golf Magazine has cobbled together an explanation, though, thanks to unnamed sources.

Apparently, the actual winner of the championship was an avid golfer named Ted Virtue, who heads up a New York-based investment company named MidOcean Partners.

After the the president bumped into Mr Virtue at the club, he reportedly told him that the only reason why he won is because Mr Trump was busy with his duties in the White House.

So, the pair agreed to a nine-hole match to determine who the real winner of the tournament was, at least according to the two of them. And, the president of the United States reportedly beat the executive, and agreed they could be co-champions.

Mr Trump has spent 173 of his 781 days in office at a trump golf property, according to a tally by NBC News. That amounts to roughly 20 per cent of his presidency.