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

Rory McIlroy has seemingly softened his stance on Donald Trump, despite vowing almost five years ago never to play golf with the former U.S. President again.

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

He expressed his disapproval of Trump’s actions, especially when Trump boasted about the U.S. conducting more coronavirus tests than any other country.

The PGA Tour star, who had played with Trump in February 2017 out of respect for the office, told 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, ahead of last month’s Genesis Invitational, McIlroy made a surprising admission. The golfer, who finished T17 at Torrey Pines, disclosed that he had played a round of golf with Trump before his January inauguration, hinting at a reconciliation.

McIlroy also indicated that Trump supports the PGA Tour in its dispute with the LIV Golf series and is not a fan of the new league’s format, despite having hosted its events previously.

Speaking about his game 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 player director Adam Scott had a meeting with the president at the White House amid the PGA Tour’s ongoing dispute with LIV Golf.

The duo disclosed in a subsequent statement 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 look to bring an end to the war between the two leagues.

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Following his round of golf with Trump at the start of the year, McIlroy is now also of the belief that the politician can play a significant role in resolving the current divisions within the sport. “The President, he can do a lot of things,” said 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.”