World No. 1 McIlroy 'probably wouldn't' golf again with Trump
Last updated on: 16 May,2020 07:55 am
McIlroy says there's little chance he'd tee it up again with US President Donald Trump.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - World number one Rory McIlroy says there s little chance he d tee it up again with US President Donald Trump, criticizing Trump s handling of the COVID-19 crisis on a golf podcast.
McIlroy told the McKellar Golf Podcast on Thursday that a more settled life away from the golf course has him feeling "more comfortable in my own skin" and more able to voice opinions.
The 31-year-old from Northern Ireland, who has a home in Florida, has not been impressed with Trump s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We re in the midst of something that s pretty serious right now and the fact that he s trying to politicize it and make it a campaign rally, saying that (the United States) administers the most tests in the world like it s a contest... It s just not the way a leader should act and there is a bit of diplomacy that you need to show and I just don t think he s shown that, especially in these times," McIlroy said.
Back in 2017, McIlroy was surprised at the "blow-back" he received after accepting an invitation to play a round with the then-recently inaugurated president.
"I ll sit here and say that the day that I did spend with him and others was very enjoyable," McIlroy recalled this week of that round with Trump.
"He s very charismatic. He was nice to everyone. It didn t matter whether you were me or the guys in the cart barn or the pro at the golf club.
"He has something. He obviously has something or he wouldn t be in the White House, right?
"So I will sit here and say that the day I had with him I enjoyed but that doesn t mean I agree with everything -- or, in fact, anything that he says."
And while he once defended that round with Trump as a show of respect to his office, McIlroy indicated he wouldn t accept another such invitation.
"I don t know if he d want to play with me again after what I just said," McIlroy said. "I know it s very self-serving of me to say, No and if I don t, then it means then I m not putting myself in position to be put under scrutiny and that I m avoiding that.
"But I probably wouldn t, no."