Skip to main content

Rory McIlroy reveals shocking insight into PIF chairman amid PGA Tour LIV Golf blockbuster

Rory McIlroy knows who Yasir Al-Rumayyan is and after his Thursday round at the RBC Canadian Open, he provided some surprising details.

Rory McIlroy, LIV Golf, PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy, LIV Golf, PGA Tour
Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

As one of the biggest names on the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy is the guy who answers a lot of the questions surrounding the new merger between the Tour, the DP World Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. After his first round at the RBC Canadian Open Thursday, he talked about the new chairman of the global golf entity, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

“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 of years ago in Austin. I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year,” McIlroy said.

“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.”

Earlier this week, Alan Shipnuck of FirePit Collective wrote a story about LIV Golf, what will happen to that league, and a little more about who Al-Rumayyan is.

Many know who Al-Rumayyan is, and many golfers have interacted with him, like McIlroy.

Al-Rumayyan loves the game of golf and is the man who pushed for the creation of Golf Saudi back in 2019, per Shipnuck’s story. Since he is a fan of the game, it seems that is one of the reasons for his interest in expanding the game and being so involved. His presence doesn’t go unnoticed.

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

McIlroy acknowledges that Al-Rumayyan is someone that has a lot of business knowledge. He knows that the PGA Tour is a business, and at the end of the day, he plays golf for a living.

More in Golf

Golf
PGA TOUR LIVE testing out new commentator-less broadcastPGA TOUR LIVE testing out new commentator-less broadcast
Golf

PGA Tour Live is testing out an announcer-less stream this week

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Trey Mullinax suspended 6 months for violating PGA Tour Anti-Doping policyTrey Mullinax suspended 6 months for violating PGA Tour Anti-Doping policy
Golf

The PGA Tour announced that Trey Mullinax has been suspended for 6 months

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Jenny Shin wins ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish OpenJenny Shin wins ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open
Golf

Jenny Shin had quite the win in Scotland

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Jackson Koivun proves future is now with 3M Open victoryJackson Koivun proves future is now with 3M Open victory
Golf

Jackson Koivun brought the future to the 3M Open with his win

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Multi-year partnership announced between PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian TourMulti-year partnership announced between PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour
Golf

The future of professional golf is starting to take shape

By RJ Ochoa
Golf
Notah Begay III officially named Payne Stewart Award recipientNotah Begay III officially named Payne Stewart Award recipient
Golf

Last weekend was a big one for Notah Begay

By RJ Ochoa

Comments
Loading comments
Getting the conversation ready...