Connect with us

19th Hole

‘He’s a very impressive man’ – Rory McIlroy speaks glowingly of PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan following merger

Published

on

Following a wild week in the world of golf that saw the PGA Tour announce a merger deal with the Saudi PIF (Public Investment Fund), Rory McIlroy has lavished praise on PIF governer Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

McIlroy was speaking after his first round at the RBC Canadian Open, where the Ulsterman shot an opening round of 1-under par. Asked by media if had he previously talked or played golf with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, McIlroy revealed:

“Yeah, so I played a pro-am with Yasir in Dubai a few years ago. And then I’ve seen him — I was with him at a Formula 1 race randomly a couple years ago in Austin. I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year.

So he’s obviously been in and around the golf world and obviously the wider sports world. So he’s sort of, he runs in the same circles as a lot of people that I know.”

Asked for his impression of the man, McIlroy spoke glowingly, saying:

“I would say he’s an avid golfer. I think he really does like the game of golf. He likes playing it. He’s a very impressive man. Harvard Business School. Runs 7 or 800 billions worth of dollars and invested in a ton of different companies. He’s a very smart, impressive man.”

Earlier this week, Rory spoke out on how he hopes LIV will now disappear following the stunning merger deal, saying:

“I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV.”

What the future of golf looks like and what LIV as an entity looks like going forward remains to be seen.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 22
  • LEGIT8
  • WOW2
  • LOL16
  • IDHT6
  • FLOP5
  • OB3
  • SHANK43

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

22 Comments

22 Comments

  1. Pingback: Rory McIlroy speaks glowingly of PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan following merger - SOCAL Golfer

  2. Elton John

    Jun 11, 2023 at 7:47 am

    McIlroy Is a closet h o m o.

    • Bill

      Jun 11, 2023 at 10:44 am

      He’s going in to business with the Saudi’s. It will be called Rent A Camel. One or two humps?

  3. Rossi

    Jun 10, 2023 at 2:14 am

    I think this saga is over now and we should concentrate in playing golf.I have enough to hear about PGA,PIF, LIV etc,etc.If PIF made an investment in the PGA Tour and it controls it I don’t see anything wrong with it.Each year tens and tens of American companies do mergers, acquisitions, hostile takeovers, etc,etc so what is the fuss if a Saudis company does the same ?

    • Theo

      Jun 10, 2023 at 3:55 am

      The golf world must wake up and treat LIV as the IPL of golf

    • NM

      Jun 10, 2023 at 6:29 am

      The PGA Tour doesn’t control it. He who has the money is in control. The PGA Tour was bleeding money via lawsuits and has been losing sponsors. They needed the Saudi money. The Saudis are in control.

    • Scott

      Jun 10, 2023 at 12:06 pm

      Agree, Saudi’s are investing in the future of golf. Nothing different than they do with hundreds of other companies. The game is going to change with the amount of money that is going to be invested. I see a future where the PGA will be playing events on courses they own, generating $$$ for them and Saudi’s. The top 100 players in the world making $5M plus. PGA will start handing out appearance bonuses. Players will still be a pawn, nothing is going to change with that unless they become a union. But they will make some nice paychecks.

    • Gawf

      Jun 10, 2023 at 10:37 pm

      What Monahan doesn’t realise is, he can now be fired by PIF for the silliest, simplest misstep that don’t work with PIF’s wishes.
      PIF will own and run golf like the way they do with all of their other sports and teams they have a hand in.
      Which is great news for us fans. More entertainment ahead. LOL

  4. Paul C

    Jun 9, 2023 at 8:57 pm

    The ‘deal’ news is just fake….there is no deal….there are no funds committed.

    The PGAT don’t want their dirty laundry aired in public.

    No way PIF would give 100% management rights to Monahan…who has proven he is a terrible manager with zero vision

  5. Imafitter

    Jun 9, 2023 at 4:58 pm

    Rory’s not American, and has always worked for those in that area of the world. 9/11…that’s just another day for him.

  6. Loohooser

    Jun 9, 2023 at 2:08 pm

    Rors is not an impressive guy lol

  7. RFK Jr

    Jun 9, 2023 at 1:41 pm

    Saudi Arabia and Israel own the US Petrodollar / Federal Reserve Note since 1973 and can destroy it anytime.

    That’s where the power has been for 50 years.

    Only gold/silver and US treasury-issued money gets our freedom back.

    • D

      Jun 9, 2023 at 2:07 pm

      Not with your Debts!!!! lololololololol that ceiling won’t help, you’re just ballooning the debt spaces even more. How do you plan to pay all of it back? LMAO

      • Bob

        Jun 10, 2023 at 11:45 am

        Simple. Default on the bonds. They’re counterfeit too anyway.

        There’s no such thing as risk free investment. Too bad, bondholders.

  8. Jimmy

    Jun 9, 2023 at 1:29 pm

    Monahan told Rory to show fealty to the new guy.

  9. GMatt

    Jun 9, 2023 at 11:43 am

    I don’t know if Biden is involved but one thing for sure the PGA Tour didn’t want thei books opened to the public

    • Mike

      Jun 9, 2023 at 12:07 pm

      PGA tour is a nonprofit. They are open to public disclosure. PIF controls the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

19th Hole

‘It was devastating’ – Keegan Bradley reveals the call he got that made him believe he was on Ryder Cup team

Published

on

This week, Keegan Bradley was a guest on the Foreplay Podcast. The 37-year-old was one of the players who seemingly narrowly missed a spot on the Ryder Cup team, and shared a heart wrenching story of how it all went down.

Apparently, Zach Johnson texted all of the players in consideration for a Captain’s pick that they’d be getting a call the following day about whether or not they’ve made the team.

When the next day arrived, Keegan got a call from Netflix, who said “Keegan, we got a camera crew five minutes from your house.”

At that moment, Bradley let himself believe that meant he was going to be heading to Rome for the Ryder Cup.

“Why would they be sending a camera crew if I’m not to get picked? For the first time, I let my brain think I did it.”

He then said he knew immediately by the tone of Zach’s voice that he wasn’t going to be picked.

“It was devastating.”

You can catch the full episode here.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW2
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Brooks Koepka explains why he understood the case for and against picking Dustin Johnson for the Ryder Cup

Published

on

Brooks Koepka is the lone LIV golfer in next week’s Ryder Cup. This will be the 33-year-old’s fourth Ryder Cup, and second in Europe. In his three prior Ryder Cups, Koepka is 6-5-1 overall, including 2-0-1 in singles matches.

Koepka was extremely close to being an automatic qualifier but slipped out of the final spot during the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The five-time major champion spoke about his Ryder Cup preparation prior to this week’s LIV Chicago event, in which he will be taking a flight to Rome directly after.

“My whole mindset has been to practice for (the Ryder Cup) the last few weeks. I mean, look, I think it’s one of the top six, seven biggest sporting events you can have. It’s a little bit more eyeballs, a little bit more pressure.”

When asked if he “plays for legacy” now after all he’s accomplished, Koepka said “I think everybody remembers their record”.

“I think everybody remembers their record, or that’s kind of what you’re known by, wins, losses. Poulter has pretty much made a career on that. Yeah, I think you can.”

While speaking with Sports Illustrated this week, Brooks was asked about the fact that Dustin Johnson, who went 5-0 at Whistling Straits in 2021, was not chosen as a captains pick this time around.

“I get the case for DJ. He played great the last time, played great last year. Hasn’t really played that great this year … or hasn’t played to DJ’s standard. That’s a better way to put that. And he didn’t play well in the majors. So I can see why he didn’t get a pick. But if they had picked him, it’s DJ and I could see that one as well.”

Although there will be no other LIV players in Rome, Koepka said he’s not worried about who he plays with and can “play with anybody”.

“I can play with anybody, and I will play with anybody.”

It will be interesting to see who Koepka is paired with next week at Marco Simone.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 3
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Free agent Matt Fitzpatrick explains why he can’t play golf clubs made by these two manufacturers

Published

on

The 2022 U.S. Open Champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, is currently an equipment free agent. He recently sat down with GolfMagic to discuss why he isn’t tied down with a manufacturer and what his outlook is going forward.

“I struggle with TaylorMade and Callaway clubs because of the way their woods and hybrids are designed. The soles aren’t very good for me so my interaction with the turf is terrible with those. Until that changes, I’d never be able to get on with them. PING and Titleist have always been a little bit better for me.”

With TaylorMade and Callaway off the table, Fitzpatrick is currently using Titleist TSi3 and is also experimenting with a Titleist TSR3.

According to the photos captured by GolfMagic, Fitz is still using his Bettinardi BB1 Fitz, but also has a different Bettinardi prototype he’s experimenting with in Rome.

With tight fairways at Marco Simone, the Englishman will be hoping that whichever driver he chooses keeps him in the fairway at next week’s Ryder Cup.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 12
  • LEGIT6
  • WOW3
  • LOL4
  • IDHT2
  • FLOP0
  • OB1
  • SHANK9

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending