A deal to resolve the fissures in professional golf is moving closer as a result of President Trump’s involvement, according to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
LIV Golf, backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, had fractured the men’s sport, with the well-resourced breakaway league attracting star names from the rival PGA and DP World Tours.
Talks between the different entities are yet reach a conclusion, despite a framework agreement first being signed in June of 2023.
But after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan visited the White House he issued a statement saying they were “closer to a final deal”.
“We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support of the game of golf,” Monahan and player directors Adam Scott and Tiger Woods said in a statement.
“We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved.
Donald Trump plays a tee shot during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational – DC at Trump National Golf Club in 2023
“We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”
In a podcast appearance ahead of his election, Trump had claimed it “would take me the better part of 15 minutes” to secure a deal between LIV and the established tours.
A look back on how Rory McIlroy’s stance on LIV Golf appears to have changed over the course of the last two years
Speaking to Sky Sports Golf about that claim, Rory McIlroy said: “He might be able to!
“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?”
What’s the state of the talks to unite golf?
It is now more than a year since the targeted date of New Year’s Eve 2023 came and went without a deal being announced between LIV’s backers – the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund – the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour to formalise the Framework Agreement to unite golf which was unexpectedly announced in June of that year.
Despite plenty of reports since then suggesting that a resolution to the talks was imminent, there has still been no final breakthrough with the discussions between the key players behind closed doors continuing into 2025.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf’s Yasir Al Rumayyan were paired against each other at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
But there have still been plenty of examples over the past year to show that relations between the parties have thawed substantially since the early hostilities seen across the game that accompanied LIV’s launch and subsequent big-money signing spree.
One-time arch critic McIlroy has spoken about the benefits of a deal, while Monahan even played a round of golf alongside PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
But as yet no final deal and agreed plan forward is in place.
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