Former Yankee shortstop and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter traded swings with President Obama last Saturday in Las Vegas. The dynamic duo played 18 holes at Shadow Creek, an exclusive golf course in the desert built by Steve Wynn and Tom Fazio.
Obama and Jeter were joined by Las Vegas Sun newspaper owner Brian Greenspun and businessman/Democratic donor Stephen Cloobeck. Even though the foursome’s round took over five hours to play, they presumably had such a good time that they went another nine holes.
The question everyone is asking, “who came out on top?” Was it the President or the Captain? Unfortunately, that information was not released. However, we can make some speculations.
Derek Jeter, President @BarackObama Golf At Exclusive Shadow Creek in Las Vegas: http://t.co/It5s6N1oT8 pic.twitter.com/GNpmGvzAqI
— Back9Network (@Back9Network) November 23, 2014
First and foremost, Jeter is not a big golfer. We know he played a round with Tiger Woods in 2013, but he has devoted much of his time and attention to the diamond, not to the links. In fact, a 2006 Golf Digest ranking of athletes who play golf revealed that Jeter’s handicap was a very mediocre 30. Even though that was over eight years ago, he’s only been retired since September. Is that enough time to significantly improve a golf game?
Obama, on the other hand, has reportedly played over 200 rounds of golf since taking over the Oval Office in 2009. The President is also a great athlete, tales of his pickup games are legendary. He also reportedly led Occidental College’s basketball team in scoring in 1979.
Of course, Jeter was a professional athlete up until a few months ago. He has always maintained a svelte frame and has clearly dedicated himself to keeping in the best possible playing shape.
All thing considered, sounds like Obama probably had the upper hand on the links last weekend. The President is an avid golfer, while Jeter has dedicated himself to baseball. However, if Derek Jeter decides that he wants to be a great golfer, then Derek Jeter will be a great golfer.
Let’s see this matchup again in a year.
What do you think? Did Obama outscore Jeter on the links?