Rory McIlroy said he thinks President Donald Trump is on the PGA Tour’s side when it comes to how the tournament is run versus the format of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Tour.
McIlroy, who was the 2022 PGA Tour champion, said he played a round of golf with the president in January before he was inaugurated.
The 35-year-old said he had a great conversation with the president and ultimately concluded that Trump was on his side and the PGA Tour’s side in terms of how the game should be formatted.
“It was really good. I thought we had a good discussion. I learned that he’s not a fan of the LIV format, which was I was like, ‘But you’ve hosted their events.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it,'” McIlroy recalled. “I think he’s on the Tour side.”
The Northern Irishman commented on his relationship with Trump at a press conference during the Genesis Invitational in San Diego, California. While fielding questions, McIlroy said he preferred a “Tiger Woods” style of scoring, where the winner takes home a larger share of the tournament winnings.
On the LIV Tour, there is a combination of team stroke-play and team match-play tournaments. In most tournaments, no players are cut between rounds and scores are combined from each member of every four-man team.
‘I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has there.’
McIlroy was asked if there was anything Trump could do to make a push for LIV to change its rules.
“The president … he can do a lot of things. He has direct access to Yasir’s boss; not many people have that,” McIlroy began, referring to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, manager of LIV Golf and governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. “Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done, and by the way I’m speaking to your boss later; I’m going to tell him the same thing.'”
In addition to saying there are “a few things” the president could do to help, McIlroy expressed that he understands Trump is very passionate about golf and that he garners a lot of respect in the Middle East.
“He can be influential. He loves the game of golf; I saw it in when I was playing with him … the respect he has in the Middle East is — I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has there.”
The golfer added that he felt whenever Trump shares his thoughts on the game or business practices, the Saudis do tend to listen.
“I think it’s a big thing,” McIlroy added.
A few days after his comments about Trump, McIlroy made more headlines for being outspoken, this time while standing up for his caddie. According to golf reporter Dan Rapaport, a fan yelled, “Blame your caddie,” after McIlroy missed a putt. Hilariously, McIlroy immediately yelled back, “Shut the f**k up!”
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