McIlroy spoke to Trump on PGA-LIV deal, says new start needed

Rory McIlroy last month engaged in discussions with former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the stalled PGA Tour and LIV Golf negotiations. McIlroy stated that top male golfers must put aside past grievances to begin a new chapter. This would allow the sport to move forward with a unified vision.

The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland, a four-time major champion, revealed he played golf with Trump in early January, and felt Trump was in favor of the PGA over the Saudi-backed LIV Golf. McIlroy recently secured his 27th PGA Tour title at Pebble Beach two weeks ago, further solidifying his position in the sport.

“The chat was really good, I think we had a really good discussion,” McIlroy told AFP. “I think he doesn’t like the idea of LIV, he certainly doesn’t like where the money is coming from. At the same time, he’s also very pro-America, and he doesn’t like the idea of money leaving America to go over to Saudi Arabia, either. I said, but you were hosting them. He said, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I like it. So I think he’s on the tour side.”

Since its debut in 2022, several top PGA players defected to the emergent LIV Golf and were promptly banned from the PGA Tour, leaving major tournaments as the only venues where golf's elite could compete against each other. The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the backer of LIV, is headed by Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The PIF and PGA Tour announced a framework investment agreement in June 2023, but the deadline for a final agreement has passed by 14 months, and negotiations have stalled.

McIlroy stated that Trump, who met with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan last week, could help broker a deal. “There’s a lot of things the president can do,” McIlroy said. “He could get on the phone to Yasir’s boss. There’s not many people that can do that. Not many people that can sort of say, ‘I want you to get this done,’ and, you know, sort of, ‘I’m going to call your boss and I’m going to tell him the same thing.’” He added, “He can do things, he can exert influence. He loves golf, and I think that’s one thing that he would do, and I think it would be a big thing if he did.”

McIlroy suggested that a swift agreement could potentially yield a top-tier tour by 2026. “I definitely think that, in 2026, we can get to a point where we’re playing more often together,” McIlroy said. McIlroy walked the fairways at Torrey Pines alongside Donald Trump Jr. during a practice round for the $20 million PGA Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, moved from Riviera due to wildfires in January.

McIlroy stated that as rules are formulated for LIV players to return to the PGA, those who were “hurt” by player defections must “get over it” for the sake of everyone. "We've all benefited from it. Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or left, we've all benefited from it," McIlroy said. "Everyone just needs to get over it, and we all move forward together. If people still have resentment because guys left, like, come on, like, get over it. Let's all move forward together."

Does McIlroy want to see a LIV player as Ryder Cup captain? “I need to be convinced of that,” he said. McIlroy stated that the higher purses since the emergence of LIV have helped him overcome the initial hurt from the split. "I'm playing for more money now than I was in 2019, and I don't know if that would have happened if LIV wasn't there," McIlroy said. "I didn't feel that way in the beginning because I felt like the disruption to the game wasn't worth it, and it wasn't sustainable for both tours."

Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. team owners, has invested $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, a new company controlled by the PGA Tour, and Saudi’s PIF is expected to invest the same amount if an agreement is reached. McIlroy indicated that investors are seeking a more globalized model. "They want to see all the best players compete together more often," he said. "I think they want to own and operate more of their own events. They maybe want to see it transition more to a global model like Formula 1, but that's a very difficult thing to do."