Rory McIlroy believes that Trump could now end the civil war between LIV Golf and the traditional PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
McIlroy believes that Trump’s relection could now end golf’s civil war
The two parties have been at each other’s throats since LIV Golf was created in 2022. Since then, a number of high-profile golfers have left the PGA Tour to play in the Saudi-led venture.
On the eve of this week’s presidential election, Trump, the now newly elected president, claimed that he could come to an agreement in 15 minutes to end the civil war on a podcast in the US.
“If you speak to them, they’re happy with their decisions. They made more money than they probably could ever have made. They got checks from, in some cases, hundreds of millions of dollars. So it’s hard to say, gee, ‘I’m going to be happy because I can’t play in a certain location.’ That’s not that important,” said Trump on the ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast.
“But I think it’ll come together. Yeah, I could certainly help, but I could probably get it done. I would say it would take me the better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done.”
Ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, McIlroy claimed that he would be surprised if a compromise had already been agreed.
Rory McIlroy looks on during a practice (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)“Yeah, I would, but then obviously, given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit. So we’ll see,” McIlroy said on Sky Sports.
The truce between the parties has allegedly been held up by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). They are going to investigate a deal between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the American circuit on the basis of anti-competition.
Now that Trump has been elected, McIlroy believes that Trump’s “15-minute deal” claim could become a reality.
“He might be able to,” McIlroy added. “He’s got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him. We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too.”
The Holywood native also believes the problem is a lot more complicated than it seems, but also knows that the 47th President of the United States has more important things to do than worry about golf’s civil war.
“Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is.
“But obviously, Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?
“But I think as the President of the United States again, he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”