Rory McIlroy made dramatic Donald Trump U-turn | Golf News

Rory McIlroy has seemingly softened his stance on Donald Trump, regardless of vowing virtually 5 years in the past by no means to play golf with the previous U.S. President again.

In May 2020, McIlroy criticized Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 disaster, accusing him of politicizing the pandemic and questioning his management during a period of uncertainty.

He expressed his disapproval of Trump’s actions, particularly when Trump boasted concerning the U.S. conducting more coronavirus checks than every other nation.

The PGA Tour star, who had performed with Trump in February 2017 out of respect for the workplace, informed 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, forward of final month’s Genesis Invitational, McIlroy made a stunning admission. The golfer, who completed T17 at Torrey Pines, disclosed that he had performed a spherical of golf with Trump earlier than his January inauguration, hinting at a reconciliation.

McIlroy additionally indicated that Trump helps the PGA Tour in its dispute with the LIV Golf collection and isn’t a fan of the new league’s format, regardless of having hosted its occasions beforehand.

Speaking about his sport with Trump, McIlroy shared: “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.”

McIlroy had visited Trump shortly after Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, and participant director Adam Scott had a assembly with the president on the White House amid the PGA Tour’s ongoing dispute with LIV Golf.

The duo disclosed in a subsequent assertion that that they had requested the president “to get involved for the good of the game” and expressed optimism about being “closer to a final deal” as they give the impression of being to deliver an finish to the struggle between the 2 leagues.

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Following his spherical of golf with Trump initially of the 12 months, McIlroy is now additionally of the assumption that the politician can play a vital function in resolving the present divisions within the game. “The President, he can do a lot of things,” mentioned McIlroy.

“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.”