Rory McIlroy Says Trump is 'Not a Fan' of LIV Golf and Suggests He Might Get a Deal Done to Unite the Tours by 2026

Cliff Hawkins. Getty Images.

There's a theory - one I happen to believe in - which states that history has a way of putting the right person in the right place at  the right moment to have a positive impact on civilization. It's hard to imagine what would've happened to Western culture if, say, Constantine wasn't there in to win the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. If some feckless twit like Millard Fillmore was President during the Civil War instead of Lincoln. Or if Winston Churchill wasn't around to lead the British in WWII. 

Well the world is at a crossroads as we speak. We're facing a crisis point on the biggest issue of our day. Which is of course the ongoing war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. It's been raging for years. The human loss has been incalculable. Millions around the world have lost their weekend TV viewing. Peace talks have continually broken down. And there seems to be no end to the carnage in sight. 

Unless. Unless history has once again put the right man in exactly the right position to change the course of human events for the benefit of all humankind. 

Say what you will about Donald Trump. Everybody does. He's the most defined human being in the world, and everyone has their opinion. But if you're one of the millions of victims suffering due to this endless conflict, you have to concede Trump is uniquely qualified to broker a deal between the Tour and LIV and finally bring Golf Peace in Our Time. 

Just ask no less an authority than PGA loyalist and outspoken opponent of LIV, Rory McIlroy, who has heard it directly from the horse's mouth:

Aljazeera - Rory McIlroy spoke with President Donald Trump last month about stalled PGA Tour-LIV Golf talks and says top men’s golfers must set aside hurt feelings to make a new start.

The 35-year-old four-time major winner … said he played golf with Trump in early January and felt Trump backed the PGA over Saudi-backed LIV. 

“It was really good. I thought we had a good discussion,” McIlroy told AFP news agency. “I learned he’s not a fan of the LIV format. I was like, but you’ve hosted their events. He was like, yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it. So I think he’s on the tour’s side.” …

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the LIV financiers whose governor is Yasir al-Rumayyan, and the PGA Tour unveiled a framework investment agreement in June 2023 but are 14 months past a deadline for a final deal with talks stalled. 

McIlroy said Trump, who met last week with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, can help get a deal done.

“The president, he can do a lot of things,” McIlroy said. “He has direct access to Yasir’s boss. Not many people have that. Not many people can say, ‘I want you to get this deal done and by the way, I’m speaking to your boss, I’m going to tell him the same thing.’

“There’s a few things that he can do. He can be influential. He loves the game of golf … I think whenever he says something they listen and I think that’s a big thing.”

To me, this is fate stepping in at our most desperate hour and offering a solution. Trump does business with LIV. Has a direct line to the Saudi prince in charge of the whole thing. Just met with the PGA Commissioner. He golfs with Tour loyalists like McIlroy and hardcore LIV guys like Bryson DeChambeau:

Not to mention he can call upon the power of the Executive Branch of the US government to get things done. From the State Department to the FTC to, if necessary, the Pentagon to force both sides to the negotiating table. 

If not Trump, then who? If not now, then when? As history has taught us - OK, Vulcan history - "Only Nixon can go to China."

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So let's get this done. And soon. The eyes of the world are upon the White House right now. Broker a long-lasting peace between the PGA and LIV, and then we can move on to other, lesser priorities like fixing the country. Make Pro Golf Great Again.