Tony Kornheiser Spent His Birthday Golfing With the President

Photograph of Kornheiser by Carol Ross Joynt.

ESPN personality
Tony Kornheiser spent his 65th birthday Saturday playing golf with President
Barack Obama. Joining Kornheiser and the President at the golf course at Fort Belvoir in Virginia
were
Mike Wilbon, who partners with Kornheiser on the ESPN show
Pardon the Interruption, and an unidentified fourth golfer.

Kornheiser and Wilbon also had lunch with the President on Friday at the White House.
The President is an admitted sports junkie, and both Wilbon and the President have
strong ties to Chicago. Kornheiser and Wilbon were longtime
Washington Post columnists before being lured away by ESPN.

No word on the caliber of golf yesterday, but here’s a scouting report on Kornheiser
from a frequent golfing partner:

“On a good day Tony shoots in the mid-80s, on a bad day in the mid-90s. He’s pretty
relaxed on the course in contrast to Wilbon, who is wound tighter but capable of playing
better than Tony.

“Tony’s swing looks pretty good now—when he started playing his backswing was slow
and jerky, like he was swinging by the numbers. He now can consistently hit his drives
more than 200 yards; his main weakness is chipping around the green. He plays quickly
and takes the game seriously but is good-humored when he duffs a shot. He’s a good
companion on the golf course, and I suspect the President had a very good time with
him.”