Jacob Bridgeman, the Clemson-trained golfer who sealed the Americans’ Presidents Cup win in September, appeared alongside President Donald Trump at a rally held on Clemson University’s campus on Wednesday.
Bridgeman, a South Carolina native and two-time PGA Tour winner, led a Clemson fight-song chant with the crowd before speaking in support of the President.
“I just thank President Donald Trump for having me here. It has been great to get to know him and to have him, as he mentioned, at the Presidents Cup, watching us have a pretty historic comeback on Sunday,” Bridgeman told the crowd.
He also credited his Presidents Cup captain, Brandt Snedeker. “Thank you to my captain, Brandt Snedeker, he had some good remarks for us after the round at the tournament for our President here, so thank you to him,” Bridgeman said.
Bridgeman added that returning to South Carolina always feels like coming home. “I travel a lot, I travel 25 to 30 weeks a year, and every time I come home it feels like at home and there is no place I would rather be,” he said. “Thank you for everyone who lives in this great state, and thank you for making it what it is, and thank you to the President for having me.”
A Presidents Cup Debut to Remember
Bridgeman made his Presidents Cup debut this past September in Illinois, finishing the event with a 1-2-0 record. His win came in Sunday’s singles matches against Min Woo Lee, part of a comeback that saw Team USA erase a three-point deficit entering the final day to win 17-13 over the International team.
President Trump, who served as an honorary chairman for the event, briefly addressed the crowd from the first tee before play began that week. “You know, the fake news media will say I get a very bad reception,” Trump said, as the crowd laughed. “But we get a good reception.”
He added that PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had asked him to give a short speech. “I said, ‘No, I don’t have the courage to make a speech. These people wanna see golf. They don’t wanna hear speeches.’ I’ll only say this: Our country is doing great, better than ever before,” Trump said.
Team USA captain Brandt Snedeker also singled out Trump’s role after the team’s comeback win on Sunday. “One last shoutout: Donald Trump. President Trump. He told me, ‘I [am] going to bring energy today for you. You guys need it,'” Snedeker said. “I told him if we did this, he gets all the credit. So, thank you, President Trump.”
Since the Presidents Cup began in 1994, the Americans have lost to the International team only once.
