Following a wild week in the world of golf that saw the PGA Tour announce a merger deal with the Saudi PIF (Public Investment Fund), Rory McIlroy has lavished praise on PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

McIlroy was speaking after his first round at the RBC Canadian Open, where the Ulsterman shot an opening round of 1-under par. Asked by media if had he previously talked or played golf with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, McIlroy revealed:

“Yeah, so 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 years ago in Austin. I saw him in Dubai at the end of last year.

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.”

Asked for his impression of the man, McIlroy spoke glowingly, saying:

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

Earlier this week, Rory spoke out on how he hopes LIV will now disappear following the stunning merger deal, saying:

“I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away. And I would fully expect that it does. And I think that’s where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF. Very different from LIV.”

What the future of golf looks like and what LIV as an entity looks like going forward remains to be seen.

Article originally appeared on: Golfwrx.com