Obama tees off with Tiger Woods for round of golf in Florida

Washington, Feb. 18 (ANI): President Barack Obama played golf with Tiger Woods during the Democrat's long weekend holiday in Florida, the White House said. The foursome at the Floridian National Golf Club, in Palm City, included U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk and Jim Crane, a Democratic donor who owns the club and the Houston Astros baseball team. On Saturday, Woods' former coach, Butch Harmon, rode along with the Obama and others for a few holes and gave the president some golf tips. According to Fox News, Golf Digest reported that Obama spent eight hours with Harmon, during which he played 27 holes and hit balls in Harmon's studio, and then coordinated Sunday's round with Woods. The report said the original plan called for Obama and Woods to play at Woods' home club, The Medalist Golf Club, a half-hour away in Hobe Sound, but they eventually opted to play in the Floridian Club. Woods departed after the first 18 holes, but Obama stayed on to play another nine, the report said. Obama and Woods met in January 2009, during the president's inauguration in Washington. Four months later, in April, Woods visited the White House and Obama welcomed him into the Oval Office. The White House has prohibited media coverage of Obama's weekend golf outing, which led to Fox News' Ed Henry, who is the president of the White House Correspondents Association, to issue a statement. The statement read that 'a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have expressed extreme frustration to him about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend'. According to the report, to which the White House responded to by saying the press access granted on Sunday was 'entirely consistent with the press access offered for previous presidential golf outings'. The president is in Florida while First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are on an annual skiing vacation in West, the report added. (ANI)