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A pair of high-profile South African golfers were thrown into a tense exchange at the White House Wednesday.
Ernie Els and Retief Goosen joined Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, for a meeting in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump.
While the meeting between the two leaders got off to a cordial start, the tenor of the meeting took a noticeable turn when Trump confronted Ramaphosa with a video that allegedly showed grave treatment of white farmers. Trump also presented Ramaphosa with documents he claimed were accounts of killings of “thousands” of Afrikaners.
Ramaphosa offered multiple denials to the claims and made it clear the statements made in the videos were not representative of his government’s policies. Els and Goosen were then brought into the discussion.
Trump welcomed the golfers as he introduced the South African president.
“I really appreciate that you guys came along. It really helps us in our thought process,” Trump said. “You two guys are fantastic,” Trump added. “What a group of golfers South Africa has had.”
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Els previously held the world’s No. 1 golf ranking. He presented his passport and said he was a “proud South African” before referencing “the apartheid era” and calling for unity.
“I know there was a lot of anger through the transition. There was a lot of stuff happening in the apartheid days,” he said. “We grew in the apartheid era, but I don’t think two wrongs make a right.”
Els added he was eager to attend the meeting and hoped it would prove beneficial for his country.
“We really wanted to meet you, meet the administration and see our way forward because we still want to see our country flourish,” Els added.
Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open winner, was asked about the farms in South Africa.
“My dad was a property developer as well as a part-time farmer, and, yeah, some of his buddy farmers got killed. The farm is still going. My brothers run it, but it’s a constant battle with farms. … They’re trying to burn the farms down, to chase you away. So it is, it is a concern to try make a living as a farmer. … Without our farmers, there’s no food on the plate.”
Goosen said his family members who lived on farms had electric fences and lived in fear of crime.
“They left behind electric fences, you know, try to be, at night, safe. But it is constant whenever you leave that something could happen. … Both of them have been attacked in their houses. My mom’s been attacked in our house when she was 80. It is difficult. But the guys live a great life despite everything going on.”
Els and Goosen are well acquainted with the sitting U.S. president. Prior to Trump’s first term in office, he posted a photo on social media of himself and Els.
“Ernie Els and myself at Trump National Doral,” he captioned the 2013 Facebook post.
Trump is an avid golfer. His real estate portfolio also includes golf courses.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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