Rory McIlroy believes President-elect Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk could play a substantial role in helping the PGA Tour and LIV Golf owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, reach a final peace deal.
A day after Donald Trump became the President-elect of the United States, McIlroy was asked at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship about the potential for the new American political reality to help a PGA Tour-PIF deal. McIlroy suggested the second Trump administration could help scuttle Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission scrutiny of any such deal.
“Given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think it clears the way a little bit,” McIlroy said. “So we’ll see.”
McIlroy also said that Trump ally and X owner, Elon Musk, could help bring the two sides together.
“He might be able to. 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,” McIlroy said.
“I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But obviously Trump has great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows? But I think as the President of the United States again, he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”
The Sun in the UK reported last week that the two sides had come to a deal on a 10-figure investment by the Saudis for a relatively small stake in the PGA Tour's for-profit subsidiary, PGA Tour Enterprises, and the chairmanship of that newer company.
However, McIlroy said Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates that he has not yet been made aware of any final deal. McIlroy did stipulate, though, that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is set to apprise McIlroy and the Tour's transaction committee about developments from his meeting last week in Saudi Arabia with Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
