Rory McIlroy believes Donald Trump “can be influential” in resolving the ongoing dispute that continues to split elite golf and also claimed the US president is “on the PGA Tour’s side”.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf agreed to merge in June 2023 but negotiations stalled and the deadline to complete that deal expired at the end of that year.
There has been little progress since and the game remains fractured with its top stars still split between the two rival tours.
Trump met with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott last week and McIlroy is confident his involvement will help find a resolution.
“I learned that [Trump’s] not a fan of the LIV format… So I think he’s on the Tour’s side.”
Rory McIlroy discusses his recent round of golf with President Trump and how he can help unify the men’s professional game. pic.twitter.com/L0M8Se5KrQ
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) February 12, 2025
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Access is key, according to McIlroy
Speaking before this week’s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, the Northern Irishman said: “The President, he can do a lot of things
“He has direct access to Yasir [Al-Rumayyan, governor of the PIF]’s boss [Mohammed bin Salman]. Not many people have that.
“Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done and by the way, I’m speaking to your boss, I’m going to tell him the same thing’.
“He [Trump] can be influential. I saw it when I was playing with Sheikh Hamdan of Abu Dhabi [on] the day [Trump] got elected in November. I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has [in the Middle East].
“Whenever he says something, they listen and I think that’s a big thing.”
McIlroy backtracks and plays round with US president
Speaking in 2020, McIlroy said he would not play golf with Trump again after criticizing his handling of the coronavirus pandemic during his first spell in the White House. But it has since emerged the Northern Irishman teed it up with the president a few weeks ago.
“I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format,” McIlroy said, adding that he put it to the president that he had hosted LIV events.
“He was like, ‘yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it’, so I think he’s on the Tour’s side.”
‘Everyone has benefitted from LIV’
McIlroy was an outspoken critic of LIV but now says everyone has “benefitted” from their involvement in golf.
He said: “Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or left, we have all benefited from this.
“I’ve been on the record saying this a lot. We’re playing for a 20 million dollar prize fund this week [and] that would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around.
“I think everyone’s just got to get over it and we all have to say ‘okay, this is the starting point and we move forward’. We don’t look to the past.
“Whatever’s happened has happened. How we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone.”
