Donald Trump has responded to Rory McIlroy's vow to never play golf with the US President again after his response to the Covid-19 crisis, saying some professional golfers liked his policies and others did not.
Trump commented while phoning in to TV coverage as McIlroy and three other golfers competed in the TaylorMade Driving Relief skins tournament in Florida on Sunday, which raised more than five million dollars (Dh18.36m) for coronavirus charities.
McIlroy caused controversy last Thursday by saying while he had played with the golf-loving Trump in the past and enjoyed it, he would not play with the president again due to his politicising of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We're in the midst of something that's pretty serious right now and the fact that he's trying to politicise it and make it a campaign rally and say we're administering the most tests in (the) world like it is a contest - there's something that just is terrible," the Northern Irishman said on the McKellar Golf podcast.
"It's not the way a leader should act.
"I don't know if he'd want to play with me again after what I just said, but I wouldn't (play with him again)."
Trump, alleged to habitually cheat at golf in the 2019 book Commander In Cheat by former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, phoned in to NBC's coverage of the skins event on Sunday.
Asked about McIlroy's comments, he said: "A lot of them (golfers) are very political, actually. A lot of them like my politics very much and some don't, I guess.
"The ones that don't I don't get to see as much."
World No 1 McIlroy teamed up with Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in Sunday's charity event at Seminole Golf Club.
McIlroy and Johnson won by claiming a 1.1 million dollar skin through a nearest-the-pin challenge on a par-three tiebreaker hole, as McIlroy hit his tee shot to within 10 feet.
The pair raised 2,075,000 dollars, Fowler and Wolff ended with 1,150,000 dollars. Adding in viewer donations, the event raised 5,503,959 dollars.
Trump also said it was "wonderful" to be watching the likes of McIlroy playing golf again as the US President underlined the importance of getting sport back quickly for the "psyche" of the nation.
The sporting calendar has been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic in recent months, but events are slowly beginning to return across the world.
UFC has returned behind closed doors and the Bundesliga became the first top league to resume this weekend, when there was live golf on TV in the form of the TaylorMade Driving Relief - a two-team skins challenge over 18 holes.
"It's a wonderful thing to see," Trump told NBC of the return of competitive golf. "I'm getting a little tired watching 10-year-old golf tournaments where you know who won. It's very nice to be watching and very nice to be with you."
Trump said "it's really so good to see these great players playing" having been unable to play himself since the coronavirus situation started.
"We want to get sports back," he said. "We miss sports, we need sports in terms of the psyche - the psyche of our country - and that's what we're doing.
"It'll start off with small crowds, if any. You saw UFC the other night, they had really just a lighted ring in the middle of an empty arena and I'm not sure that so many people missed the fans. I don't think so in that particular case.
"But, look, we want to get it back to where it was. We want big, big stadiums loaded with people."
Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
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