Rory McIlroy hopes the next president of the United States could combine two major golf tours.
In June 2023, there was big news from the golf world. At that time, it was reported that the traditional PGA and the European tours were merging with the controversial Saudi-funded LIV.
However, the situation has been frozen for a year and a half. Saudi Arabia’s state investment fund PIF finances the LIV tour. It and the PGA still haven’t reached an agreement on merging the tours.
The US Department of Justice has had to intervene in the game. During the past months, the issue has been discussed behind closed doors.
Golf superstar Rory McIlroy hopes that an agreement would be reached and the series would be united. He has turned his sights on the winner of the US presidential election on Wednesday to Donald Trump.
Trump, 78, is a passionate golfer who is seen as having widespread influence. For example, competitions on the LIV tour have been played on courts owned by Trump in the United States.
of The Athletic according to which Trump had previously stated in a Sirius XM podcast that he would bring the parties to an agreement “in the future”.
The Northern Irishman trusts Trump especially in the sense that he has a billionaire behind him Elon Musk. The world’s richest person has strongly stirred up Trump’s background influence.
– He has Musk, who I consider the smartest man in the world. We might get something done if we get Musk involved, McIlroy said, among other things of The Guardian by.
The 35-year-old McIlroy also believes in Trump’s power to influence the Saudi financiers.
– He has a great relationship with golf. He is a golf lover. So, maybe. Who knows? But I think the President of the United States probably has bigger things on his plate than golf.
Money attracts
At least so far, the tours have been their own entities. The LIV tour has been played since 2022.
Players are attracted by the biggest prize money in the history of the sport. The prize money for the winner of the tour is known to be just under 23.5 million euros.
For a Spaniard To Jon Rahm the finished LIV tour was a big deal. He won a total pot of $18 million. Finnish Kalle Samoa has played on that tour.
Due to its connection with Saudi Arabia, the LIV tour has also garnered a lot of criticism. For example, the human rights association Amnesty sees that combining the tours diverts attention away from Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations, i.e. it would be so-called sports laundering.