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A pair of high-profile South African golfers were thrown into a tense exchange at the White House on Wednesday.
Ernie Els and Retief Goos joined South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
The shift in the meeting took a sensible turn when Trump and Ramaphosa faced a videotape, and the tenor of the meeting allegedly showed serious treatment of white farmers. Trump also presented Ramaphosa with his alleged documents explaining the killing records of "thousands of Afrikaans".
Ramaphosa filed multiple denials of the claim and made it clear that the statements made in the video did not represent the policies of his government. Then bring ELS and GOOSEN into the discussion.
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President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday, May 21. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Trump welcomes golfers when introducing the South African president.
"I'm very grateful for you here. It really helped our thinking process," Trump added, adding, "You two are great." "What's the matter with a bunch of golfers in South Africa."
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ELS has previously been ranked No. 1 golf ranking in the world. He introduced his passport and said he was a "proud South Africa" and then mentioned the "age of segregation" and called for solidarity.
"I know there's a lot of anger in the transition. A lot of things happened in the age of apartheid," he said. "We grew up in the age of apartheid, but I don't think two mistakes are right."
Ret Fosen Tees was in the first round of the round on March 28, 2025 at the first round of the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho, California. (Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun/Today via Imagen Images network)
Els added that he was eager to attend the conference and hoped it would be good for his country.
"We really want to meet you, meet the government and see the way forward because we still want to see our country thriving," Elles added.
Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champion, was asked about farms in South Africa.
"My father is a real estate developer and part-time farmer, and yes, some of his partner farmers were killed. The farm is still moving forward. My brothers run it, but it's a constant struggle with the farm. ... They try to burn the farm and hunt you down in order to drive you away. So, it's a concern, try to make our farmers become farmers, without our farmers.
Gus said his family on the farm had electric fences and lived for fear of crime.
"What they left behind is the electric fence, you know, it's safe at night. But whenever you leave, it's the same. ... They're both attacked in the house. My mom was attacked in our home when she was 80.
Golfers Ret goosen and Ernie Els stood in the Oval Office at a meeting between Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
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ELS and GOOSEN are very familiar with the current US President. Prior to Trump's tenure, he posted photos of himself and EL on social media.
He captioned the 2013 Facebook post: "Ernie Els and I are in Trump National Doral."
Trump is an avid golfer. His real estate portfolio also includes golf courses.
Fox News's Greg Norman contributed to the report.
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