Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has lifted the lid on one of the most unusual rounds of golf he ever played - an outing alongside former US President Donald Trump and ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Rooney, now retired from professional soccer, was playing in Major League Soccer for DC United from 2018 to 2020. It was during his time in America's capital that he received an invitation to tee it up with Trump and Giuliani at a local golf course.
In an interview, the 36-year-old described the round as one of the "maddest" he's ever taken part in due to the high-level security and politically charged atmosphere.
"We had Secret Service with guns on the bag and snipers in the bushes - it was a very surreal experience to be playing golf with the President of the United States," Rooney recalled.
The presence of armed agents and hidden marksmen monitoring their every move from nearby shrubbery added an intense layer of pressure, according to the former Three Lions striker.
Rooney said the security was understandable given the profile of Trump and Giuliani, but it made for a golf outing like no other. Even casual conversations on the course needed to be carefully considered.
As one of the most famous footballers on the planet at that time, Rooney was given unique access to the highest spheres of American politics. But being so closely guarded during a game of golf was an entirely new experience.
The ex-Premier League star believes the polarized political climate in Washington DC at that moment also contributed to the tense atmosphere.
While just a casual social round for most amateurs, Rooney insists playing alongside Trump and the former New York Mayor amid such tight security ranks among his most peculiar rounds of golf to date.
It highlighted for the sporting icon the real measure of responsibility and pressures that come with positions of such influence and national importance. Rooney came away from the "mad" occasion with memories and stories to last a lifetime.
References:
https://www.goal.com/en-in/lists/snipers-bushes-wayne-rooney-mad-golf-round-donald-trump-rudy-giuliani-mls-dc-united/blt3b2e6e5adc020e2e#cs26e8bc74b2aeac19
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