Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Tuesday night, and Rory McIlroy believes the result could finally bring some unity to the professional golf world.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf entered into a merger agreement over a year ago, but a deal still has not been finalized. A recent report claimed the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have a resolution in place. There have since been indications that the report was premature, and McIlroy told reporters at the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this week that he hasn’t “heard a thing” about any new developments.
McIlroy did, however, say on Wednesday that he believes Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris could wind up being good news for those who want to see the PGA-LIV Tour drama finally come to an end.
“Given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit,” McIlroy said, via Joel Beall of Golf Digest. “So we’ll see.”
Trump is a big golf enthusiast and owns many courses around the world. Some of those venues have hosted LIV Golf events. The 78-year-old has claimed he would be able to settle the differences between LIV and the PGA Tour “in 15 minutes.”
McIlroy said in a recent interview with Sky Sports that he does not doubt Trump’s potential influence.
“Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But obviously Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia,” McIlroy said. “He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?”
The feud between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf at one point started to have a WWE vibe, but things have cooled considerably since the two sides began working on a merger. Perhaps Trump can help bridge the gap if needed, though he probably has more important items on the agenda in the coming months.
