Rory McIlroy dazzled all golf fans with his display at the Masters, including President Donald Trump, but the USA chief may be left disappointed by the Northern Irishman
Rory McIlroy and Donald Trump have met each other many times(Image: Getty Images)
Donald Trump says he cannot wait to see Rory McIlroy play at his golf course for the 2026 Cadillac Miami Championship – but there’s a chance the president of the United States will be left disappointed.
President Trump was one of the first key figures outside of golf to praise McIlroy for retaining the Masters, becoming only the fourth player to do so after Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. As he does so often, Trump slid a reference to himself into his congratulatory message for McIlroy, saying he is looking forward to watching the Northern Irishman get to work at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster course for the Cadillac Miami Championship.
However, the Commander in Chief should not count his golden chickens just yet, as there’s a chance McIlroy will snub him. That’s because the six-time major winner has already made it clear he is not going to be taking part in many PGA Tour signature events.
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In 2025, McIlroy missed several signatures, stating he wanted to spend more time with his family and solely prioritise the major competitions. Before the Masters, he told the Guardian: “You look at what Justin Rose has done.
“He is still competitive at 45 and I would like to think if I do the right things, pace myself and play the schedule that suits, not playing a ton of golf to stop me being burnt out every year, that I can get to that point as well. It’s a little bit more relaxed.
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“I feel like I have done a really good job over the last five or six years of not living and dying by every shot or round. I don’t want to say the tour stuff is ‘less important’.
“But at the same time if I have 10 years left and I really want to prioritise the majors then the other tournaments are great to play in, you want to win them.
“It is just that every time I play in a PGA Tour event I have one eye on what I need to do for the next few weeks, leading into majors.”
The next major on the calendar is the PGA Championship, which starts on May 14 next month. Considering his comments about being ultra-selective about PGA Tour events so he could be fresh for the majors, it would make sense for McIlroy to perhaps skip the Cadillac Championship.
Before the Masters, McIlroy missed the Valspar Championship, the Texas Children’s Houston Open and the Valero Texas Open, opting to spend more time studying the Augusta course instead. It must be noted McIlroy is yet to clarify which events he will compete in or miss.
In the run-up to the PGA Championship; the RBC Heritage Championship, the Cadillac Miami Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic will be taking place.
It remains to be seen which events, if any, McIlroy will involve himself in, so close to the PGA Championship. The Northern Irishman won the major in 2012 and 2014, but endured a poor finish last year, finishing T47, a massive 14 strokes behind eventual winner Scottie Scheffler.
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