Back in 2020 when the world was amidst a pandemic, Rory McIlroy had famously taken a stand which many thought was permanent. Criticising the leadership of the country at the time he declared that he would never play golf with Donald Trump. But fast forward to today and the stance has changed in what one may call as the, “Great Golf Pivot of 2026.”

McIlroy after winning the 2026 Masters Tournament, had said he would have an amazing celebration with his family and team on Sunday evening. What he failed to mention was that he has a round of golf booked with President Donald Trump for the next day. Cameras captured the Irishman, his father, and Trump playing a round at a golf club. And the official White House X accounted tweeted about it.

The White House‘s official X account tweeted the picture with a caption, “2026 Masters Champion, Rory McIlroy 🏆🏆.”

Trump for his part was among the first to publicly congratulate McIlroy after his Masters win. He took to Truth Social and said, “Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on another great championship, The Masters!” Trump wrote. With each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!” So is Rory simply being courteous, which he in the past has referenced as being ? Well for fans the contrast is too much to digest. Because the 2020 remark wasn’t just a one one that he made.

McIlroy has consistently shown his stance. Even during the Ryder Cup celebrations led by Luke Donald, he didn’t shy away from the moment where chants of “Are you watching, Donald Trump?” echoed. He recorded the locker room reactions, completely aware of the message it sent. But that’s not all.

When he spoke on the McKellar Journal podcast about his playing a round with Trump back in 2017, he said his decision was made “out of respect for the office,” even though it brought him major backlash then.

Nevertless, some say that Trump is a great admirer of McIlroy. And that’s because Woods vouched for him during one of their conversations. In one of Kai Trump’s vlogs, the President told his granddaughter, “Rory’s got a great swing. Tiger told me that Rory is the best driver that he has seen. For Tiger to say that, that’s amazing, right? Because Tiger’s great at everything. And he said Rory’s the greatest driver he has seen.”

In the end though it doesn’t change the fact that while there may be some context around Rory making a decison as such, fans are simply not interested in trying to decode it. They are reacting to what they see, and in their eyes are – only questions !

Netizens divided over Rory McIlroy’s meeting with President Donald Trump a day after the Masters

One fan wrote, “That will rattle a few! 😂😂😂.”

They must have seen the negative reactions coming in from the internet. There were quite a few who questioned Trump on the country’s sensitive issues.

Another jokingly said, “So Big Macs at the White house then?”

As many are aware, the POTUS is a big fan of McDonald’s. He admitted to often getting a Big Mac meal for lunch, even when he is at the White House. So it won’t come as a surprise if Trump treats McIlroy to a fast-food fiesta.

But some were happy to see Trump with Rory and his father on the field.

One said, “Trump picks winners. Winners pick Trump. Congratulations to Rory on becoming the first B2B MASTER CHAMP since the 🐐 TIGER WOODS.”

Another wrote, “Hell yeah, President Trump out there with back-to-back Masters champ Rory McIlroy—winners recognize winners while he keeps America winning bigly on every front! 🇺🇸🏆.”

Both felt McIlroy and Trump were winners. They brought Tiger Woods into the conversation, another golfer the President deeply admires.

Finally, one fan sarcastically said, “America should be proud we have Rory representing us at the Masters. We have the best golfers of any country.”

Quite a few American golfers were competing with McIlroy in the final round. But neither of them could surpass the Irishman. The fans seem frustrated that, despite having such big players like Scottie Scheffler, it was a European golfer who won the Masters Tournament again.