Rory McIlroy previously declared he would not play with Donald Triump (Image: PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
seems to have softened his stance on despite declaring that he would never join him on a golf course nearly five years ago. He launched a scathing critique of Trump’s handling of the pandemic back in May 2020, accusing him of politicizing the pandemic and questioning his leadership in tumultuous times.
Citing Trump’s self-congratulatory comments on U.S. testing, McIlroy had grown unhappy with his position. Although he had played golf with Trump in February 2017 as a sign of respect for the office of the President, McIlroy clarified his stance in an interview with the McKellar Journal: “That day I had with him I enjoyed. But that doesn’t mean I agree with everything – or, in fact, anything – that he says.”
However, in a surprising turn of events ahead of last month’s Genesis Invitational, McIlroy revealed he teed off with Trump before January’s inauguration, indicating the two seemingly bridged some gaps. Intriguingly, McIlroy also suggested that Trump may now be supporting the PGA Tour amidst ongoing rivalry with LIV Golf, despite the President previously hosting tournaments for the contentious competitor league.
McIlroy shared his experience of playing golf with Trump, revealing: “It was really good. I thought we had a good discussion. I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format. I was like, ‘But you’ve hosted their events?’. He was like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it’. I think he’s on the [PGA] Tour’s side.”
This meeting occurred shortly after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott visited Trump at the White House amid an ongoing feud between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Following their visit, Monahan and Scott issued a statement indicating they had requested Trump’s intervention “to get involved for the good of the game” and expressed optimism about being “closer to a final deal” in their bid to settle the dispute between the two leagues.
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Rory McIlroy and Donald Trump have since reunited on the course (Image: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
After his own golfing session with Trump earlier this year, McIlroy now also thinks that the two-time US president could play a vital role in healing the current divisions within the sport.
“The President, he can do a lot of things,” McIlroy asserted. “He has direct access to Yasir’s [Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF] boss – not many people have that. Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done and by the way, I’m speaking to your boss, I’m going to tell him the same thing’. There’s a few things that he can do. He can be influential. He loves the game of golf.”
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