President Donald Trump honored his friend, Masters champion Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington D.C. on Monday, May 6.
Trump announced he would present the nation’s highest civilian honor to his business partner Woods, 43, in honor of his Masters victory last month.
Trump called the legendary golfer “a global symbol of American excellence, devotion and drive.”
“He’s also a great person. He’s a great guy,” Trump added.
In the audience showing their support for Woods were his girlfriend Erica Herman, his mother Kultida Woods, and children Sam Alexis Woods and Charlie Axel Woods.
Woods is the fourth golfer to receive the Medal of Freedom and the only active golfer to be honored while still playing competitively.
“I tried to hang in there and I tried to come back and play the great game of golf again,” Woods said. “I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to do it again, and, the amazing Masters experience that I just had a few weeks ago is probably the highlight of what I’ve accomplished so far in my life on the golf course.”
President Donald Trump was joined by the first lady Melania Trump to pose for photographs with Woods and his family after the medal ceremony in the Rose Garden.
Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images