Trump Bags Bedminster Golf Championship Despite 'Limited Practice' Due to White House Duties

President Donald Trump won the club championship at his own Bedminster course this weekend, carding a 70 and telling the rest of the field it came down to 'talent,' even as the taxpayer cost of his golf habit draws scrutiny.

Trump, 80, announced the win on Truth Social on Sunday, sharing a video of what he called his 'winning shot.' 'I won with a score of 70, and am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I'm given very little time to practice, because I'm focused on many other things,' he wrote. He then went further than his usual boasts, adding 'It's called TALENT, and I have it, and they don't.'

The 70, two under par on the par-72 layout, handed him a pair of championship trophies and pushed his declared tally past 40, all won at courses he owns. Critics quickly questioned how a sitting president with so little practice time keeps beating the club regulars, with some noting he tends to win only at venues bearing his name.

The Taxpayer Bill Behind the Boast

The bigger story is not the scorecard but the tab. Trump's golf trips have cost US taxpayers more than $100 million (£74 million) since he returned to office in January 2025, according to a HuffPost analysis, which projects the second-term total could reach $300 million (£222 million).

The figures draw on a 2019 Government Accountability Office report that put the average trip at about $3.4 million (£2.5 million). Each Bedminster visit runs close to $1.1 million (£816,000). Most of the cost comes from Air Force One flights, cargo transport for motorcades, and security details, expenses that have not shrunk in his second term.

Free Publicity Before a LIV Showcase

The timing sharpens the point. Trump National Golf Club Bedminster hosts LIV Golf New York from 6 to 9 August, a four-day event on the Saudi-backed circuit featuring stars such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, according to LIV Golf. That means the president's personal boast lands just days before his own property takes one of the biggest stages in professional golf, turning a weekend brag into free promotion for the family business.

LIV events draw large crowds and heavy broadcast coverage, giving any host course major national exposure.

A Record Shadowed by Cheating Claims

Trump's golf record has long drawn accusations of cheating. Sportswriter Rick Reilly, who has played with him and wrote 'Commander in Cheat,' has said that on the course Trump rates 'an 11 on a scale of one to 10' for cheating.

Footage said to show irregular play at his clubs has circulated for years, and unconfirmed clips resurfaced again after this win. Trump denies the claims and has called Reilly a dishonest writer.

Golf on More Than a Quarter of His Days

By early 2026, the president had spent more than a quarter of his second-term days at his golf clubs, according to trackers based on his public schedule. During his first term, golf at his own resorts cost taxpayers $151.5 million (£112 million) across 293 days on the course.

The White House has increasingly logged those outings as 'executive time,' a label now appearing on his schedule almost daily. Whatever the scorecard reads at Bedminster, the sharper question for voters is who pays for the president's 'talent.'