MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to be honorary chairman of this year’s Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour said yesterday.

Obama, an avid basketball player who enjoys the occasional round of golf, will fulfil the role when the biennial team competition takes place at San Francisco’s Harding Park Golf Course October 8-11.

“We are honoured that President Obama has accepted our invitation to be honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup in October,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.

“As the eighth head of state to serve in this role, President Obama continues a long tradition of support and leadership dating back to the first Presidents Cup in 1994.”

The Presidents Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition which pits a U.S. team against a line-up of International players from countries outside Europe.
The U.S. won the trophy in 2007 for the fifth time in seven editions.