Rory McIlroy makes extraordinary claim about Donald Trump as POTUS joins PGA Tour-LIV Golf talks
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Rory McIlroy has opened up about a recent round with the US president – and revealed which LIV player he would most like to see back on the PGA Tour
When it comes to covering golf at tour level, there aren’t many things as enjoyable as Rory McIlroy dropping a huge bombshell then walking away as pundits and fans alike try desperately to piece together the overload of information just bestowed on them.
This time, the four-time major champion was speaking to the media ahead of the Genesis Invitational when he not only revealed that he played a round with Donald Trump recently, but also a startling admission from the US president.
It left McIlroy confident that POTUS can move forward the ongoing and drawn-out negotiations between the PGA Tour and Yasir al-Rummayan, who heads up Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“He can do a lot of things,” McIlroy said. “He has a direct access to Yasir’s 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. I was playing with Sheik Hamdan of Abu Dhabi the day [Trump] got elected in November and I don’t think people appreciate how much respect that he has [in the Middle East].
“So whenever he says something, they listen. And I think that’s a big thing.”
That was the point McIlroy was asked if he himself had spoken to Trump about the state of the sport at tour level.
“I played with him a few weeks ago,” he confirmed. “It was great. We had a good discussion.”
Then McIlroy – who has long been the mouthpiece of the PGA Tour and one of LIV Golf’s biggest critics – got a glint in his eye.
“I learned he’s not a fan of the LIV format,” he smiled.
“I was like, ‘But you’ve hosted their events!’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I like it.’ So I think he’s on the Tour’s side.”
Which player would Rory McIlroy most like to have back on the PGA Tour?
As for how McIlroy sees LIV Golf fitting into the PGA Tour schedule, he says the best idea is for them to replicate their season-ending Team Championship at every event.
“They all just go out and play and they add their scores up at the end of the day – I don’t think that gets people going,” he said.
“But when the teams go head to head, that has a possibility of working. So instead of that being maybe once a year and then these stroke play events, could you reduce the stroke play events and do more of that a few times a year?
“Especially if these guys are going to come back and play [on Tour], then there is more of an opportunity for these teams to go more head to head because I think that makes for a more compelling product.”
So how does he see that reunification working, and LIV Golf’s returning to the PGA Tour?
“You’ve heard it yourself,” McIlroy said. “Jon Rahm would love to play here this week, or he would love to play the Phoenix Open. There are certain events that they definitely miss.
“The hard thing for me, you know, is they want to do that but then they also want to play a few events here. Well OK, I don’t know if that’s going to be an option. It might be, who knows? But there’s elements of the PGA Tour that a lot of guys miss over there, some of their favorite events or things that they have played their whole career that they don’t play anymore, I think that’s a part of it.”
He continued: “Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we have all benefited from this. I’ve been on the record saying this a lot. We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t have come around.
“I think everyone’s just got to get over it and we all have to say, ‘OK, this is the starting point and we move forward. We don’t look behind us, we don’t look to the past.’ Whatever’s happened has happened and it’s been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone.
“If people are butt hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went –who cares? Let’s move forward together and let’s just try to get this thing going again and do what’s best for the game.
“I don’t think it’s complicated at all. There are guys that were on the PGA Tour that went to play on LIV, and if they still have status, sure, come back and play.
“Having Bryson DeChambeau come back and play on this tour is good.”
It would also mean this is all over and we can go back to enjoying golf again.
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Rory McIlroy says PGA Tour and LIV Golf players need to 'just get over it'
