President Donald Trump called in to NBC’s live broadcast of the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity skins game on Sunday.
“It’s about time,” he told studio host Mike Tirico in regards to live golf back on television. “It’s a wonderful thing to see. I was getting tired of watching 10-year-old tournaments, where you know who won.”
The team match features world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff at the esteemed Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida, one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.
“I love golf, I love even the exercise. It’s a great game. It’s really so great to see these great players playing,” Trump said. “I know them and they’re really terrific people. I haven’t played really since the problem started, I haven’t been able to play golf, I’ve been very busy.”
McIlroy created a stir on Thursday when he was asked about Trump on the McKellar Golf Podcast. McIlroy had taken Trump up on an offer to play a round of golf back in 2017 but on the podcast, McIlroy said he hasn’t played with him since and won’t in the future.
“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,” McIlroy said.
Tirico mentioned McIlroy’s comments to Trump. The President didn’t respond directly about McIlroy but more generally about Tour players.
“A lot of them are very political, actually. A lot of them like my politics very much and some don’t, I guess,” Trump said. “The ones that don’t I don’t get to see as much.”
Trump then started talking about next steps.
“You’ll never make up for the lives that were lost, but we’re going to rebuild. … and we’re starting, really, right now at your event,” Trump said. “It’s the beginning of live events and you’re going to have the Masters pretty soon. That’ll be a little unusual. But it’s great to be playing. I know so many of the Tour players and they’re really fantastic.
“I can’t think of anyone I don’t like,” Trump said.
When asked about the various pro leagues safely bringing sports back, Trump said the U.S. has conducted more than 10 million tests.
“The athletes will be tested very carefully and the people that want to can be tested very carefully,” he said.
The first four PGA Tour events, starting June 11 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, will be held without fans.
“After that, hopefully it’ll be back,” Trump said. “We really want to see it get back to normal, when you have all of those thousands, tens of thousands of people going to your majors and going to golf tournaments, we want them to have that same experience, so we don’t want people having to wear masks. … because that’s not getting back to normal.”
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