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Obama plays final golf round before vacation ends

ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama drives a golf cart with World Bank President Jim Kim during a golf outing at Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

EDGARTOWN, Mass. >> President Barack Obama returned to the golf course today to play his sixth and final round of a weeklong vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.

Obama played at Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, his third visit there since arriving on Aug. 10. World Bank President Jim Kim, New York lawyer and Obama fundraiser Eunu Chun and aide Mike Brush completed the foursome, the White House said. Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are due back at the White House late Sunday.

The president has spent all or part of nine days on this picturesque Massachusetts island, mostly keeping a low profile while renting a house in Chilmark, a property valued at $7 million. He spoke publicly just once, condemning violence in Egypt.

The political upheaval in that Middle Eastern country is one of several issues Obama will contend with in the coming weeks. Also drawing his attention will be negotiations with congressional Republicans to get a new spending plan in place by the Sept. 30 end of the federal budget year or risk a government shutdown, and to increase the government’s borrowing authority.

Obama also is considering whom to pick as his next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The president devoted many vacation hours to his golf game, but also had a few date-night dinners out with the first lady before their daughters arrived late in the week. The entire family went for a bike ride, hit the beach and ate a couple of dinners away, including an evening spent at the Oak Bluffs rental home of White House senior adviser and family friend Valerie Jarrett.

Obama’s week ahead includes a White House recognition ceremony Tuesday for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only NFL team to achieve a perfect season.

The Dolphins, who went 17-0, never made it to the White House after their Super Bowl win 40 years ago in 1973. President Richard Nixon was immersed in the Watergate scandal at the time and, back then, White House visits by victorious professional and collegiate sports teams were not as common as they are today.

Many Dolphins team members are expected to attend, including fullback Larry Csonka and Hall of Fame coach Don Shula.

Obama also hits the road again at the end of next week, this time on official business. He’s scheduled a bus trip through upstate New York and Pennsylvania to talk about making a college education more affordable. Thursday’s stops include the State University of New York at Buffalo and Henninger High School in Syracuse. On Friday, Obama planned to answer questions at a town hall-style event at SUNY-Binghamton before a stop at Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa. He is to be joined there by Vice President Joe Biden, a native of the northeastern Pennsylvania city.

The stops are the latest on Obama’s summertime tour to highlight his economic proposals for the middle class.

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