Ad Disclosure
Peyton Manning recounts humorous story of ‘pardon’ during golf game with former President Obama
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Peyton Manning, on ESPN2 on Monday, recalled a time when he humorously received a “presidential pardon” from former President Obama for one of his golf shots.
Obama was a guest with Peyton and Eli Manning during the “ManningCast” of Bears-Patriots on ESPN2. A lifelong Bears fan, Obama has seen his team get offto a 2-4 start to the 2022 season.
And it seems that Obama’s power to pardon people extends to the golf course, as Peyton Manning explained when he played with the 44th president at the famed Riviera Country Club in California.
“I was nervous. Big crowd on the first tee. There’s no mulligans allowed at Riviera on the 1st tee,” Manning said. “The president gets up, stripes one down the middle. I get up, cold-top it into the doom down below. The president pardoned my first shot. He said, ‘Presidental ruling. I’m giving Peyton Manning a mulligan.’ Thank you for that, Mr. President. That was no fun for me.”
“It was the least I could do, man,” Obama quipped. “Cause I did feel bad for you.”
Obama has had at least something to smile about during the game despite the Bears’ struggles this year. They did open up a 10-0 lead on New England in the 1st quarter.
Presidential pardons come in all shapes and sizes, as Peyton Manning learned.
"It was the least I could do, man. Cause I did feel bad for you." – @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/xiQQnSlNcv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 25, 2022
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
