Rory McIlroy thinks Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House might be just what golf needs to end its bitter civil war.
“Given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit,” McIlroy told reporters at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Wednesday.
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The golf world has been split since LIV Golf, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), started competing with the PGA Tour for the sport’s top talent.
McIlroy shot down rumors of an already-done deal between the tours, which had been floating around in British media over the weekend. But he’s definitely seeing some interesting possibilities ahead.
Trump’s involvement could be a game-changer. The former president, a huge golf fan who’s backed LIV Golf from the start, recently claimed he could solve the whole mess “in 15 minutes.”
Could he really do it? McIlroy’s not ruling it out.
“He might be able to,” McIlroy said. “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 U.S. Department of Justice has been one of the biggest roadblocks to a deal. But with Trump potentially returning to office, those priorities might shift.
McIlroy, who sits on the PGA Tour’s deal-making committee, hasn’t heard any updates lately – even though Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was in Saudi Arabia last week.
But things might be moving behind the scenes. The committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday night.
“So maybe some news comes out of that,” McIlroy hinted.
He did add a reality check about Trump’s potential involvement: “As President of the United States again, he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”