"He's the full package" - Rory McIlroy praises PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp ahead of the pair’s first encounter

It took nine starts for Jake Knapp to earn his first win, and Rory McIlroy took notice. The two were paired together for this weekend's event, the Cognizant Classic, and it was the first time they'd met.

Knapp has had an interesting route to this path, having been a bouncer a few years ago trying to save and play his way up. Conversely, McIlroy has been successful and a pro for a long time (his debut was 17 years ago).

McIlroy, after playing with Knapp for the first time, was impressed with his tee-mate. Knapp might not have a wealth of experience, but the Northern Irishman certainly believes his American counterpart has the talent.

The Ryder Cup star said:

“If he keeps playing the way he is, he’s the full package. He could be a superstar out here for sure.”

Knapp dominated through three rounds at the Mexico Open last weekend, going 19 under par. That gave him more than enough cushion to coast through an up-and-down final round (in which he broke even) to get the win.

This week, at the Cognizant Classic, he was paired to tee off with Chris Kirk and McIlroy, a grouping he was thrilled about. Knapp is currently three under par through the first round, while McIlroy is slightly ahead at four under.

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Andrew "Chubby" Chandler claims Rory McIlroy might move to LIV in the future

Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, one of the Irishman's former agents, has made a bold claim. For so long, Rory McIlroy has been a staunch defender of the PGA Tour and adamant against LIV Golf. Things have changed, and Chandler believes there might be a reason for it.

Rory McIlroy is a lot kinder towards LIV now

As someone who knows McIlroy fairly well, Chandler said via Golf.com:

“Rory is of the ilk that he’ll say something because he likes to have an opinion, but he’s quite happy to apologize for it and that’s what he’s done. If you were being cynical, you might say he’s going to sign for about 750 million in a month’s time with LIV because he’s paving the way that LIV’s OK now, whereas it wasn’t."

Chandler said that the golfer doesn’t need $750 million, but the things that have transpired are "odd" and if Jon Rahm could defect, so could McIlroy. He continued, dousing water on the chances by offering up a low probability that it would happen:

“I think number one, there’s a 10 percent possibility he’s favoring his way to sign for LIV, but he realizes that the whole bickering and fighting is no good for golf. The man in the street must find it appalling the sums of money being spoken.”

Reporters didn't waste much time asking McIlroy about this. They are quick to ask him a lot of things about the state of golf, and something as massive as a potential LIV move demands immediate questioning.

McIlroy cheekily said that Chandler might know what he's talking about since he is writing a book, and added that 10% might be too low of an estimation.