Donald Trump and Elon Musk can bring the PGA Tour and LIV Golf together, says Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy believes Donald Trump’s return to the White House could bring peace between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded breakaway LIV circuit and has speculated that Elon Musk could play a key role in negotiations over golf’s future.

The US tour is engaged in protracted negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) aimed at healing a rift within professional men’s golf, where many top stars remain barred from the PGA Tour.

A proposed deal, first revealed in June 2023, is likely to face opposition from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which is concerned that it could potentially lead to breaches of anti-competitive laws.

“Given what’s happened, I think it clears the way a little bit,” McIlroy told reporters after Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election.

The DOJ is independent of the US government, but presidents can influence key appointments, including the US Attorney General and Solicitor General.

Trump suggested earlier this week that he could resolve golf’s so-called “civil war,” saying on Bill Belichick’s Let’s Go podcast that it would only take him “the best part of 15 minutes to get that deal done.”

McIlroy, who has previously suggested that the US DOJ is the major stumbling block for the ratification of the agreement between the PIF and the PGA and DP World Tours, hopes that Trump and his electoral ally Musk can break the current impasse.

“We’ll see,” said the 35-year-old world number three. “Maybe he can. He has Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, by his side.

“We might be able to do something if we can get Musk on board as well. I think from the outside it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is.

“Trump has a good relationship with Saudi Arabia. He has a good relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So maybe. Who knows?

“But I think as the president of the United States he probably has bigger things to focus on than golf.”

Trump has praised the lucrative LIV Tour for its “unlimited money”, and five of its tournaments have been held at his courses since its launch in June 2022.

During his victory speech, Trump asked celebrating Republicans to salute US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who joined the victorious candidate on stage wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap.

DeChambeau beat McIlroy at Pinehurst last June to win the US Open and is the second LIV golfer after Brooks Koepka to land a major after switching to the breakout setup.

“I think we should have a ride,” Trump said on former NFL coach Belichick’s podcast. “And they should have the best players on that tour.”

The Sun reported last weekend that a £1bn union deal has been agreed. USD (£780m) with Saudi Arabia taking an 11% stake in the PGA Tour, while PIF governor Yasir Al Rumayyan, who has played golf with Trump, would become tour chairman.

Unnamed industry sources subsequently quoted in the US media said the report was “premature”, citing “the biggest issue of navigating antitrust issues in the US”.

McIlroy, a member of the PGA Tour’s ‘transactions committee’, expects to be briefed by tour commissioner Jay Monahan before Thursday’s return to play after a four-week break from competition.

“I know Jay was in Saudi Arabia last week at FII (Future Investment Initiative Institute) and had some meetings,” said the four-time major champion.

“I know he’s briefing the transactions committee (on Wednesday). So maybe some news will come out of that.”

McIlroy is preparing for this week’s HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship. Victory would give the Northern Irishman the Race to Dubai title for the third consecutive year with one tournament to spare.

To that end, while many observers have anxiously awaited news of swing states, McIlroy has been more concerned with the state of his swing.

Ahead of Thursday’s start in the United Arab Emirates, his first tournament since last month’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, he revealed he has spent the period studying his backswing.

“I kind of committed after Dunhill that I wasn’t going to watch my ball flight for three weeks,” McIlroy said.

“So I locked myself in a swing studio for three weeks and just hit balls into an empty screen or a net and just focused on my swing and focused on the movement of my swing and focused on the movement of my body patterns.”