Do we like them?

Do we like Rory McIlroy?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean record on LGBTQ+ people and the planet, real charity work, and one contested call (that 2017 round with Trump) plus a Saudi-money U-turn.

Rory McIlroy is the Northern Irish golfer who won the Masters at Augusta National on 12 April 2026. It was a repeat, after he finished the career grand slam there in 2025. He has spent two decades as one of golf's biggest names, and a good chunk of that as its most outspoken one.

The messiest money story is old. In 2015 he took his former management company Horizon Sports Management to the High Court in Dublin, claiming his terms were worse than those of other top players on its books. It settled before the trial got going, with reports that he would pay Horizon more than $25 million. A joint statement said it was settled “to the satisfaction of both parties”. A costly business split, not a scandal.

Now the harm check. In 2017 he played a round with newly elected President Trump and cop a pile of abuse, with critics calling him “a fascist and a bigot”. He said politics wasn't discussed and it was just a round of golf, but added he'd think twice about doing it again. In the same press conference he called Muirfield's vote on admitting women members “horrendous”. That's the record on women and politics; where you land on the Trump round depends on whether you read it as manners or as a photo op.

The other mark is Saudi money. In February 2024 he said having the PIF as a PGA Tour partner wasn't really an option to avoid, and in 2025 he called reunification with LIV “the best thing for everyone”. By May 2026, ahead of the PGA Championship, he said “I'm glad I was wrong”. That's a change of mind about sports politics, not hate aimed at anyone, but it's a real flip-flop on who he's happy to take money from.

So, would we support him? Yes. Nothing harmful in his own words turned up, he's given generously to kids' charities, and he's stood up to a homophobic heckler. The asterisk is for the Trump round and the Saudi U-turn. Worth knowing is that a lot of the 2026 'controversy' coverage we saw was tabloid territory, so we left it out.