DUBLIN — President Trump on Sunday presented the championship trophy to golfer Shane Lowry after the Irishman won the Irish Open tournament that was played at Mr. Trump’s golf resort in the country.
It’s no secret that the Republican president loves the game of golf. He likes to watch, play and even design courses. He isn’t shy about his friendships with the pros, and now may be adding Lowry to his roster.
“Shane played unbelievable,” Mr. Trump said. He said he’d watched Lowry on the Saturday night news hit nine putts in a row “and I thought that was ‘best of.’”
“But he also hit the ball really well, too,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s a great guy” and “he’s got an infectious personality.”
Mr. Trump spent the weekend at his golf resort in the Irish village of Doonbeg to watch the tournament. He was joined for Sunday’s final day of competition by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
Golf is just one of the things the president does for fun, according to his friend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“The president works all day, every day. And there are two things that he does for enjoyment,” Mr. Lutnick told reporters recently. “He plays golf on the weekend and he builds. He loves to build.”
Mr. Trump has built friendships with some of the pros. He name drops and lavishes them with praise whenever he talks about them.
“I have so many friends that are professional, top professional golfers,” he told Fox News Channel’s “The Five” earlier this year, naming Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler among them.
Over the years, he’s spoken often about his favorite golfers.
He said DeChambeau is among the “great pros.” The two have played together and DeChambeau has appeared at the White House. He celebrated his first U.S. Open title in 2020 at one of Mr. Trump’s golf properties in New York.
Ernie Els, the South African pro golfer was in the Oval Office in May 2025 as part of the delegation accompanying Cyril Ramaphosa, his country’s president, to a meeting with Mr. Trump. Fellow South African golfer Retief Goosen was also part of the group.
“Ernie Els is a great golfer. He’s a truly great golfer and Retief Goosen, who’s another really - we call him really a great golfer, too, Ernie, right?” Mr. Trump said. “These two guys are fantastic, and we could add Gary to the group, Gary Player. What a group of golfers South Africa has had. There must be something in the water, right?”
After winning this year’s Masters, McIlroy was a guest at a White House state dinner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in April 2026. Mr. Trump recognized the six-time major champion from Northern Ireland as he spoke about the “unconquerable courage” he said is shared by the United States and the United Kingdom.
“And speaking of that, where’s Rory McIlroy? … Stand up, Rory. Will you please? That was unconquerable courage. That was very good, Rory,” Mr. Trump said of the Masters win.
“I had to interrupt my speech because I watched that man win a tournament that was, that was a tough, that was a tough one. Congratulations. Very proud of you,” Mr. Trump continued.
Mr. Trump called Woods a “true legend” when he awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. Woods is currently dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of the president’s son.
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