Watch: MLB legend David Ortiz talks golf with Rory McIlroy at the Cognizant Classic

The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches - Previews
David Ortiz and Rory McIlroy (Image via Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

MLB star David Ortiz and Rory McIlroy were seen discussing golf at the pro-am tournament of the Cognizant Classic on Wednesday, February 28.

McIlroy is set to tee off at this week's PGA Tour event, which is slated to start on February 29. The tournament featuring a stellar field had its pro-am event on Wednesday, February 28 when David and Rory were spotted talking.

The MLB star was seen asking McIlroy to teach him a particular shot and share his struggle with his golf form. The PGA Tour shared a video of the encounter on their X (formerly Twitter) account.

In the video, McIlroy takes his shot before an impressed Ortiz asks the Norther Irishman to teach him the same move. Ortiz asked McIlroy:

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

McIlroy hugged the ex-MLB star and said:

"I don't think it would take long."

Discussing his golf form, Ortiz said:

" You know what the problem is? The direction. I'm either pulling this way or that way. That's the problem. Keep it like that. That was beautiful."

Rory McIlroy last competed at The Match earlier this week and emerged victorious in the tournament against Max Homa, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang. He won $2.4 million from the competition for donations.


When will Rory McIlroy tee off at the Cognizant Classic?

McIlroy will tee off for the first round of the 2024 Cognizant Classic on Thursday, February 29. He will start his game in a group with 2024 Mexico Open winner Jake Knapp and defending champion Chris Kirk at 7:40 a.m. ET on the tenth hole.

The tournament will take place at the PGA National's Champion Course in Florida. It will feature a stellar field of 144 players who will compete in a stroke-format tournament to win the winner's share from the purse of $9 million.

Golfers will start their game on Thursday at 6:45 a.m. ET with Byeong Hun An, Callum Taller and Dylan Wu taking the first shot of the day on the first hole while Ben Martin, Maverick McNealy and Andrew Novak will tee off on the tenth hole.

Here are the tee times of the first round of the 2024 Cognizant Classic (all-time in ET):

Tee No. 1

  • 6:45 a.m. – Byeong Hun An, Callum Tarren, Dylan Wu
  • 6:56 a.m. – Tyler Duncan, Ryan Palmer, Jhonattan Vegas
  • 7:07 a.m. – C.T. Pan, Mark Hubbard, Sam Stevens
  • 7:18 a.m. – K.H. Lee, Chad Ramey, Keith Mitchell
  • 7:29 a.m. – Nick Hardy, Kevin Kisner, J.B. Holmes
  • 7:40 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Francesco Molinari, Brandt Snedeker
  • 7:51 a.m. – Davis Riley, Ryan Brehm, Zach Johnson
  • 8:02 a.m. – Beau Hossler, Sam Ryder, Doug Ghim
  • 8:13 a.m. – Garrick Higgo, Matt NeSmith, Matti Schmid
  • 8:24 a.m. – Chesson Hadley, Justin Suh, Ben Kohles
  • 8:35 a.m. – Chan Kim, Chandler Phillips, Tyler Collet
  • 8:46 a.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Rico Hoey, Chase Johnson
  • 11:45 a.m. – Greyson Sigg, S.H. Kim, Ryan Fox
  • 11:56 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Kevin Streelman, Tyson Alexander
  • 12:07 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Denny McCarthy, Min Woo Lee
  • 12:18 p.m. – Tom Hoge, Brendon Todd, Matt Kuchar
  • 12:29 p.m. – Russell Henley, Daniel Berger, Eric Cole
  • 12:40 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im
  • 12:51 p.m. – Tom Kim, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose
  • 1:02 p.m. – Aaron Baddeley, Padraig Harrington, Justin Lower
  • 1:13 p.m. – Taylor Pendrith, Joseph Bramlett, Ben Taylor
  • 1:24 p.m. – Paul Barjon, Patrick Fishburn, Fred Biondi
  • 1:35 p.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Pierceson Coody, Norman Xiong
  • 1:46 p.m. – Victor Perez, Alejandro Tosti, Rasmus Højgaard

Tee No. 10

  • 6:45 a.m. – Ben Martin, Maverick McNealy, Andrew Novak
  • 6:56 a.m. – Ryan Moore, Austin Eckroat, Harry Hall
  • 7:07 a.m. – Alex Smalley, Hayden Buckley, Davis Thompson
  • 7:18 a.m. – Corey Conners, Matt Wallace, Billy Horschel
  • 7:29 a.m. – Matthieu Pavon, Camilo Villegas, Shane Lowry
  • 7:40 a.m. – Jake Knapp, Chris Kirk, Rory McIlroy
  • 7:51 a.m. – Nick Dunlap, Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Young
  • 8:02 a.m. – Michael Kim, Stephan Jaeger, Thomas Detry
  • 8:13 a.m. – Peter Malnati, Bud Cauley, Brandon Wu
  • 8:24 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Jimmy Stanger, Adrien Dumont de Chassart
  • 8:35 a.m. – Ryo Hisatsune, Jorge Campillo, Max Greyserman
  • 8:46 a.m. – Alexander Björk, Parker Coody, Michael Gligic
  • 11:45 a.m. – Martin Laird, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Ben Griffin
  • 11:56 a.m. – Robby Shelton, Taylor Montgomery, David Lipsky
  • 12:07 p.m. – Troy Merritt, Jeff Overton, Zac Blair
  • 12:18 p.m. – Luke List, Lee Hodges, Joel Dahmen
  • 12:29 p.m. – Lucas Glover, Adam Svensson, Gary Woodland
  • 12:40 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Nico Echavarria, Adam Schenk
  • 12:51 p.m. – Vincent Norrman, Cameron Champ, Scott Stallings
  • 1:02 p.m. – Alex Noren, Kevin Yu, Carl Yuan
  • 1:13 p.m. – Nate Lashley, Robert Garrigus, Carson Young
  • 1:24 p.m. – Thorbjørn Olesen, Chris Gotterup, David Skinns
  • 1:35 p.m. – Joe Highsmith, Mac Meissner, Chris Crawford
  • 1:46 p.m. – Ben Silverman, Nicholas Lindheim, Braden Shattuck

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Edited by Siddharth Dhananjay
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