The 2025 Ryder Cup got underway on Friday at Long Island’s Bethpage Black Golf Course, where attendees included President Trump, basketball legend Michael Jordan and former One Direction member Niall Horan.
The biennial tournament, which runs through Sunday, features 12 top U.S. golfers taking on a dozen of their European counterparts. The U.S. team is led by Vermont native Keegan Bradley, while the European squad is captained by Englishman Luke Donald.
The president was greeted by curious spectators and press when he arrived with his granddaughter Kai, who’s also a golfer. The 18-year-old student-athlete competes on her high school’s top-ranked team in Palm Beach, Fla., and has committed to play for the University of Miami.
Trump stopped to tell reporters he was on hand to represent the United States and claimed he was close to forging a deal to end Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza after nearly two years of fighting.
The president also took a moment to disparage former FBI Director James Comey, who was charged on Thursday with making a false statement to Congress.
“I think there will be others,” Trump warned, suggesting his other political enemies could find themselves in similar predicaments.
Comey maintains his innocence and said he will not be intimidated by Trump.
Other boldfaced names who hit the Bethpage links in advance of the Ryder Cup included celebrity chef Bobby Flay, “Saturday Night Live” comedian Colin Jost, and former Giants Michael Strahan and Eli Manning.
They participated in a celebrity match on Wednesday against European stars including Spanish chef Jose Andres, Welsh actor Catherine Zeta-Jones and former Chicago Bull Toni Kukoc, a Croatian player who teamed up with Jordan to win three NBA titles in the 1990s.
The U.S. team claimed victory in the star-studded showdown.
However, the European Ryder Cup squad got off to a fast start Friday morning by winning three out of four matches against the home team.
“We got problems,” Jordan told a Golf.com reporter after watching the Europeans set an impressive tone.
Gov. Hochul showed up at Wednesday’s opening ceremony event, where she had problems too. According to The Guardian, the boo birds came out in full force to chirp at the Democratic leader.
