Rory McIlroy spoke with President Donald Trump last month about stalled PGA Tour-LIV Golf talks and says top men’s golfers must set aside hurt feelings to make a new start.
The 35-year-old four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, coming off his 27th PGA Tour triumph two weeks ago at Pebble Beach, said he played golf with Trump in early January and felt Trump backed the PGA over Saudi-backed LIV.
“It was really good. I thought we had a good discussion,” McIlroy told AFP news agency. “I learned he’s not a fan of the LIV format. I was like, but you’ve hosted their events. He was like, yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it. So I think he’s on the tour’s side.”
Several top PGA players have bolted to upstart LIV Golf since its 2022 debut and were quickly banned by the PGA Tour, leaving major tournaments as the only place where golf’s elite men compete against each other.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the LIV financiers whose governor is Yasir al-Rumayyan, and the PGA Tour unveiled a framework investment agreement in June 2023 but are 14 months past a deadline for a final deal with talks stalled.
McIlroy said Trump, who met last week with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, can help get a deal done.
“The president, he can do a lot of things,” McIlroy said. “He has direct access to Yasir’s boss. 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.’
“There’s a few things that he can do. He can be influential. He loves the game of golf … I think whenever he says something they listen and I think that’s a big thing.”
A quick deal could produce a single top tour for 2026, McIlroy said.
“I absolutely think in ’26 you could get to a point where we play together more often,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy walked with Donald Trump Jr in a Wednesday practice round at Torrey Pines for the $20m PGA Genesis Invitational, moved from Riviera due to January wildfires in Los Angeles.
“Feel like I’m in good form obviously coming off the back of Pebble. Just trying to keep it rolling,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy said as rules are hammered out for PGA returns by LIV players, those who were “butt hurt” at defections must “get over it” for everyone.
“We’ve all done better from all of this. Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we’ve all benefitted,” McIlroy said.
“Everyone has just got to get over it and we all have to say OK, this is the starting point and we move forward.
“If people are butt hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like who cares? Let’s move forward together.”
Would McIlroy want to see LIV players serve as Ryder Cup captains? “I would have to be convinced,” he said.
McIlroy said richer purses since LIV’s arrival helped him overcome the hurt of the original split. “I earn more money now than I did in 2019 and if LIV hadn’t have come around, I don’t know if I’d have been able to say that,” McIlroy said.
“I didn’t feel that way initially because of the fracture. It wasn’t good for the overall game … for both tours it’s unsustainable.”
Strategic Sports Group, a collection of US team owners, invested $1.5bn in PGA Tour Enterprises, a new company under the PGA Tour’s control, and Saudi’s PIF is expected to invest the same if a deal gets done.
McIlroy says the investors seek a more global set-up. “They want to see all the best players compete against each other more often,” he said. “I think they want to own and operate more of their own tournaments.
“They’d probably like to see it transition more to like a Formula 1 global model, but that’s a very hard thing to do.”
LIV CEO excited by ‘likely’ PIF investment in PGA
Scott O’Neil, newly on the job as LIV Golf’s chief executive officer, is taking an optimistic view on his circuit’s future.
LIV’s financial backer, PIF, is “likely to make an investment in PGA Tour Enterprises,” O’Neil said.
PGA Tour Enterprises is the for-profit wing of the PGA Tour, and it’s at the heart of talks regarding a possible merger between the rival tours.
“For us at LIV, we are hoping that (a PIF link with PGA Tour Enterprises) unlocks opportunity,” O’Neil told Reuters in Adelaide, Australia, site of LIV Golf’s event this weekend. “That may unlock opportunity with markets, with courses, with marketing partners, with television networks, with growing the game, with competition opportunities, with new formats.
“I grew up in New York, if you haven’t been able to tell so far by my funny accent, and the state motto is ‘Excelsior,’ which means kind of onwards and upwards effectively, and we’re very excited about the potential investment with PIF and PGA Tour Enterprises.”
O’Neil, who replaced golf legend Greg Norman as LIV Golf’s CEO this year, touted the work he has done so far.
“It’s been a short 40 days here, but in the 40 days I’ve seen a United States agreement with FOX, broadcast agreement, I’ve seen a United Kingdom agreement with ITV to get us over the air in the UK,” he said. “It’s the only golf that’ll be over the air in the UK, I’ve seen our first pillar partnership with Madden. I’ve seen stars extended. I’ve seen a successful event in Riyadh. I’ve seen interest from all over the world. We’re now broadcast in 100 countries and territories, over 800 million households.
“So I see momentum. You don’t have to look too far from here to feel like we’re going to have the largest event in the history of LIV Golf here, right here in Adelaide.”
O’Neil praised the work done by his predecessor. “Greg is an icon,” O’Neil said. “He is a friend. He is the reason I’m here today. I spent quite a bit of time with him in my 30-day leadup to this role and every day since engaging, asking questions and learning, and I hope that he is part of LIV forever.
“We just had a board meeting last week. He sits on the board, which is another wonderful testament that we can tap into his experience, his leadership, his friendship and any challenges, too, at the board meeting. I was hoping for a friendly (colleague) on the other side of the table, but he mixes it up pretty good.
“It’s quite a gift to have him as part of LIV. I feel like he was the right person at the right time, and I hope I can stand on the shoulders of giants and move the league forward.”
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