US President Donald Trump is a keen golfer and will attend day one of the three-day event pitting the best players from Europe against those from the United States of America
The Ryder Cup kicks off at the Black Course at Bethpage in New York on Friday morning, but, for once, Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler will not be the most high-profile figures in attendance.
US President Donald Trump is a keen golfer and will attend day one of the three-day event pitting the best players from Europe against those from the United States of America.
On the eve of the Ryder Cup, and perhaps wary of the abuse he is about to take from US fans, McIlroy described the United States as ‘the greatest country in the world’.
The 36-year-old, who this year became only the sixth player to complete a career grand slam, said: “Everyone wanted to make it in America, it’s the land of opportunity and I still believe it’s the best country in the world. If you come here and work hard and dedicate yourself, you can be or do whatever you want.
“I am unbelievably grateful and lucky that I got to come to America early on. I think success is celebrated here. I think there’s a wonderful sense of work ethic.
“I live here. My wife is American, my daughter is American. I have a lot of affinity towards this country and I think everyone that lives here should have that same affinity because it is a wonderful place.”
That sort of message is music to the ears of US President Trump who has played golf with the Holywood ace this year.
McIlroy has spoken at length about Trump’s influence over the sport but hasn’t always lavished him with praise. McIlroy played with Trump in February 2017 and said in 2020 that he wouldn’t play golf again with him and doubted he would even be invited after questioning his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.
McIlroy has been pictured this year playing a round with Kai Trump, the president’s granddaughter. She is an American social media personality and avid golfer, the eldest child of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Haydon.
Belfast Live has explored the County Down star’s ever-changing stance on the controversial US leader.
March 2016
Going back nearly a decade, McIlroy appeared to view Trump with a degree of apathy, taking an almost dismissive tone as he spoke about the billionaire tycoon prior to his first stint in the Oval Office. Discussing the politician in the lead up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he admitted: “He’s not going to be the leader of my country, so it really doesn’t bother me too much.”
March 2020
However, his opinions did seem to change in relation to Trump during the latter’s first term in the White House. He did play a round of golf with President Trump in February 2017 but openly expressed his regret at having done so just over three years on.
Speaking about the experience, while acknowledging that he was at odds with the figure from an ideological standpoint he said: “I haven’t [played a round with Trump] since … out of choice,” adding: “So I will sit here and say that day I had with him I enjoyed. But that doesn’t mean I agree with everything — or, in fact, anything — that he says.”
Going into more detail about his disapproval of Trump’s policies, he added: “Like it’s a contest. There’s some stuff that just is terrible. It’s not the way a leader should act. There is a bit of diplomacy that you need to show, and I just don’t think he’s showing that, especially in these times.”
“I don’t know if he’d want to play with me again after what I just said. I know it’s very self-serving of me to say no, and if I don’t, then it means I’m not putting myself in position to be under scrutiny and that I’m avoiding that. But no, I wouldn’t.”
February 2025
However, fast forward just under five years and it appears that McIlroy’s stance has changed on the president. Backing him to be the catalyst in a hypothetical breakthrough in talks over the planned LIV-PGA merger, he said: “The President, he can do a lot of things.”
He has direct access to Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF]’s boss [Mohammed bin Salman]. 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’.
“He [Trump] can be influential. I saw it when I was playing with Sheikh Hamdan of Abu Dhabi [on] the day [Trump] got elected in November. I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has [in the Middle East]. Whenever he says something, they listen and I think that’s a big thing.”
He even confirmed that he played golf with the president earlier this year, adding that they had enjoyed “a good discussion”. He later said: “I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format,” adding: “I think he’s on the Tour’s side.”
Just recently, Trump disagreed with McIlroy’s assertion that it was not [possible for Keegan Bradley to captain the US Ryder Cup side and play at the same time.
“Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team – As Captain!!!” he wrote on Truth Social. “He is an AMAZING guy.”
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