Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick recalls playing a bizarre round of golf with President-elect Donald Trump

Like many sports stars, Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick is a big fan of golf. Roenick is a regular participant in celebrity tournaments and has even played with President-elect Donald Trump.

Recently, Jeremy Roenick told an anecdote on Golf Digest's The Loop podcast about a bizarre round of golf he played with Trump. The event took place in August 2020, when the then-president was in full campaign mode for re-election.

Jeremy Roenick (Image via Imagn)

According to Roenick, they were playing the 12th hole at Bedminster when the president's security detail was suddenly activated. Secret Service agents arrived at the players' location and said they needed to take Donald Trump away because an "air breach" had been reported.

Jeremy Roenick stated that he and everyone in the golf course were momentarily shocked and looked intently at the sky. It was then that they realized that the air breach was a small Cesna flying over some nearby hills.

Five to ten seconds later, Roenick said, the Cessna was flanked by two U.S. Air Force F-16s.

"I can imagine the pilot of that plane, absolutely loosing his mind, freaking out, having to flight that plane out of there, I'm sure he got arrested...," Jeremy Roenick said during The loop podcast.

Roenick stated that he was unable to find his rhythm after this event. He said he had three double bogeys in a row from that point on.

Jeremy Roenick and Golf

Jeremy Roenick had a career in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1988 to 2009. He played for five teams, scored over 500 goals and appeared in nine All-Star games. He was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (Class of 2024).

His love of golf dates back to his playing days and he has managed to lower his handicap to scratch level. Roenick is one of the recognizable faces at the celebrity tournaments held each year.

A recent example was the LPGA Tour's 2023 Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions, where she competed alongside stars such as Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson and Annika Sorenstam.

During the tournament, Roenick was emphatic about the quality of players on the LPGA Tour. Here is part of what he had to say (via Forbes):

"These [LPGA] players are the best of the best in the world in their sport, and you have to give the props for that. I’m just riding their coat-tails but enjoying every bit of it."

Roenick is also one of the main promoters of a new celebrity league that is about to launch. The league is called The Pro and will play its first tournament December 12-14 at the Innisbrook Course in Florida.

The league brings together stars from other sports in four teams representing football (FTB), field hockey (HKY), basketball (BKB) and baseball (BSB). Roenick himself will captain the HKY team, Jerome Bettis will captain the FTB team, Jon Barry will captain the BKB team, and John Smoltz will captain the BSB team.