As England prepares for its World Cup quarter-final clash against Norway on Saturday, captain Harry Kane has shared details of an unexpected round of golf he played with Donald Trump, describing the encounter as “I played all right, to be honest,” while commending the U.S. president’s skills on the course.
On July 6, Trump astonished journalists by revealing that he had previously played golf with Kane, praising the England striker as a talented player and golfer.
When asked about Trump’s remarks and how the game went, Kane confirmed that the round occurred in Palm Beach, Florida, approximately 18 months ago.
“Yeah, we played about 18 months ago. He invited me to play when I was down in Palm Beach, so yeah, when the president invites you somewhere … it was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him and obviously play golf with him.” Kane recounted. “His golf’s pretty good, to be honest with you,”
Kane’s club, Bayern Munich, observed a winter break from late December 2024 to early January 2025, indicating that the golf outing took place prior to the onset of Trump’s second term.
The England striker, who previously stated he has a 3 handicap to the German site golfpunk.de, further lauded the 80-year-old Trump’s golfing capabilities. “I hope I can play golf as good as him when I’m his age, that’s for sure. “So yeah, unique experience but yeah, I was just grateful he invited me down to play.” Kane said. “Harry Kane of England is a GREAT player!!!”
He added, “I think Kane is a great player,”
Following England’s 3-2 victory over Mexico in the round of 16 on July 5, Trump took to social media to commend Kane, stating, “I played golf with him and I like him a lot. He’s a good golfer. He’s really great.” The subsequent day, he disclosed that they had played golf together.
“Bleak, bleak. You don’t just pal around with someone like that,” Trump remarked. “Harry Kane just begging for the Trump Curse to come a-knocking,”
Kane’s admission about golfing with Trump triggered a wave of criticism online, particularly among those opposed to the president’s policies.
“Guess Harry Kane has no issues with being a dumb sports washing tool for authoritarianism,”
commented writer Musa Okwonga.
Jules Boykoff, a political scientist and author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the Fifa Greed Machine, humorously suggested that Kane might be courting misfortune by associating with Trump, who attended the only game that the New York Knicks lost during the NBA finals before they went on to win the championship in June for the first time since 1973.
“Screw this guy. He certainly is no Mbappe. Hope Norway wins.” Boykoff quipped.
Some U.S. soccer fans remarked that rival forwards, such as Kylian Mbappé, who has openly criticized the French far-right, and Norway’s Erling Haaland, would likely decline an invitation to play with Trump.
“Guess Harry Kane has no issues with being a dumb sports washing tool for authoritarianism,” wrote Murshed Zaheed, a former aide to the late senator Harry Reid. “Screw this guy. He certainly is no Mbappe. Hope Norway wins.”
- Harry Kane
- World Cup
- Donald Trump
- US politics
- England
- Golf
- World Cup 2026
