President Trump would not be hosting the Irish Open at his Doonbeg resort this September without Rory McIlroy’s support and influence, his son Eric Trump has claimed.
The tournament is held September 10-13 at Trump’s stunning resort in the coastal village of Ireland and the President himself could even make the trip from the White House later this year.
That’s according to his son, Eric, who has revealed just how close the Masters champion McIlroy has become not only with the President, but with Trump’s wider family.
‘Rory’s become a friend. And frankly, I’d say without Rory’s support, I’m not even sure if we’d have it here,’ Eric told the Belfast Telegraph of the tournament.
‘Rory has been super supportive of the family. I was just with him two weeks ago. He played at Trump Jupiter. You’re going to see some of the true great stars come to this event.’
Eric added that the Trump family assured McIlroy that the tournament in September will be ‘the best Irish Open that Ireland has ever seen’.
Rory McIlroy helped Donald Trump host the Irish Open at his Doonbeg resort, his son has said
Eric Trump said the Masters champion McIlroy hopes the President will attend the Irish Open
As for whether his father will be there, the 42-year-old Eric said that if the President can make the trip, then he definitely will be.
‘I think he’s gonna be here. He really wants to be here – and I know Rory definitely wants him here,’ Eric said.
McIlroy was pictured earlier this year hitting the range with the President’s teenage granddaughter, Kai, earlier in January. Kai is a keen golfer and has a scholarship at the University of Miami.
And last September, after Team Europe won the Ryder Cup against Team USA on American soil, McIlroy even goaded the President by sending him a video of him and his teammates chanting ‘Are you watching, Donald Trump?’
Trump saw the funny side, however and shared the video to his Truth Social page with the caption: ‘Yes, I’m watching. Congratulations!’
McIlroy hasn’t always been an admirer of the President, however. He played a round of gold with Trump in 2017 and received backlash from Trump’s critics.
In 2020, McIlroy said he would not do it again.
‘I haven’t done it since … out of choice,’ McIlroy said at the time. ‘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.’
Eric said that McIlroy has become a close friend of the entire Trump family in recent times
Kai Trump hit the driving range with McIlroy earlier in January to kickstart her 2026 in style
McIlroy continued, unprompted, by saying Trump has tried to politicize the Covid-19 pandemic, using as an example Trump’s claim the U.S. has administered more tests for the new coronavirus than any other nation.
‘Like it’s a contest,’ McIlroy said. ‘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. 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,’
But it appears time has been a great healer.
