Rory McIlroy believes Donald Trump becoming US president for the second time could help “clear the way” for a peace deal in golf.
With the 78-year-old Republican securing victory over Democrat opponent Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, McIlroy feels the return of the golf-loving Trump to the White House in January may well accelerate a conclusion to the long-running talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf to formalise the framework agreement first signed in June 2023.
“Given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit,” said McIlroy in a press conference ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is live on Sky Sports Golf and serves as the first of the back-to-back season-ending Play-Offs in the Race to Dubai.
And asked if the US Department of Justice could therefore be more amenable to the proposed deal under a Trump presidency, McIlroy said: “It would be a huge moment.”
In a podcast appearance ahead of the election earlier this week, Trump suggested it “would take me the better part of 15 minutes” to secure a deal between LIV and the established tours.
Speaking to Sky Sports Golf about that claim, McIlroy said: “He might be able to.
“He’s got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world beside him, so he might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved too.
“But from the outside looking in I think it’s probably a little bit less complicated than it actually is, but obviously Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia, he’s got a great relationship with golf, he’s a lover of golf, so maybe. Who knows?
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“But as the president of the United States again he’s probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”
More to follow…
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