Donald Trump snubbed Rory McIlroy over the weekend as he named his two best golfers in the world, with the omission of the recent Masters champion.
McIlroy played a practice round with the president’s granddaughter in February and recently acknowledged that the president could be ‘influential’ for gold after he met Tiger Woods, PGA commissioner Jay Monahan, player director Adam, and members of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund at the White House.
When it comes to the best on the green, Trump has a clear pairing in mind: Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffer.
“He's probably the No. 1 golfer now,” Trump said from Trump National Golf Club in DC of DeChambeau. “Him and Scottie are rated the top.”
Bryson DeChambeau and Donald Trump have a close relationship
AP
McIlroy is ranked second in the world after Scheffler following his Masters win, with DeChambeau in 10th.
"We play golf a lot together, it's not a very pleasant experience for me because I always consider myself a reasonably long hitter," Trump said from his DC course.
"My wife says, 'Are you as long as Bryson?' I say, 'Yeah sorta, pretty close - it's not close."
Two-time US Open winner Dechambeau has been an avid supporter of Trump in recent years, including the golfer inviting him onto his YouTube channel last year.
DeChambeau was also on stage with the president following his presidential victory in Florida last November.
Trump has become involved in golf's civil war, as he hosted PGA leaders and the PIF at the White House earlier this year.
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Donald Trump is known as a big golf fanGETTYAnd McIlroy, who has previously been critical of Trump, praised the president's influence after the meeting.
“The President, he can do a lot of things... he has direct access to Yasir's boss,” McIlroy said, speaking about PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
“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.”
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McIlroy also played golf with Trump in January and said they had a “good discussion”.
“I learnt that he's not a fan of the LIV [Golf] format,” McIlroy shared after his Genesis Invitational pro-am.
However, Northern Irishman McIlroy - a longtime resident of the US - has been critical of Trump in the past.
Rory McIlroy has been very critical of the president in the past
ReutersIn 2020, he suggested that he didn't share his views, and criticised his behaviour during his first presidential term.
“There's some stuff that just is terrible,” he said. “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.”
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