How Trump can help reunite the golfing world

What is the dispute?

The PGA Tour has been the most dominant arena in the game for decades, the holy grail which players from around the world aspire to. But over the last couple of years, LIV, with seemingly endless funds and former World No.1 Greg Norman as its public face, has come up as a potential rival.

LIV has managed to acquire several top players for its 54-hole shotgun-start events, guaranteeing much bigger appearance money, fewer tournaments, and more facilities. Major champions such as Jon Rahm, Bryson Dechambeau, Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia have made the switch, leading to their disqualification from the PGA Tour. The LIV events are also not considered for world rankings.

A lot of expensive litigation followed, with LIV accusing the PGA Tour of antitrust (monopoly) and anti-competitive conduct. The latter alleged that the new initiative had encouraged players to break their existing contracts.

Have there been attempts at a truce before?

The dispute was taking a toll on all parties concerned. This prompted the PGA Tour, LIV and the PGA European Tour to announce an agreement to pool their commercial rights into a new for-profit venture, which was to be funded by the PIF. This would potentially end all existing litigation and suspensions. The original deadline for completing the deal was December 31, 2023, but was not met.

Norman has since stepped down and stalwarts on the PGA Tour’s side — such as McIlroy and Woods — have toned down their comments against LIV. Meanwhile, two of the four Majors — the US Open and the Open Championship — have offered direct exemptions to leading LIV players to appear in their 2025 tournaments.

Where does Trump come into the picture?

When LIV emerged on the scene, Trump actively encouraged PGA Tour players to switch, saying they would regret it if they did not. He even hosted LIV events on his golf courses. But the fact that a US President is expected to have some influence with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, and Trump projecting himself as someone who can get deals done, has got those on the PGA Tour side hopeful. It is they who have had to increase prize money in their tournaments to dissuade players from moving to LIV. PIF, which is associated with the Saudi government, has much deeper pockets.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Woods and McIlroy have met Trump separately after his second term began last month, and the President expressed hope that he would use his clout to help get a formal agreement in place.

The PGA Tour has asked the US President to get PIF head Yasir Al-Rumayyan on the same page.

What does the future hold?

There may be a bit of bitterness among some PGA Tour players who refused lucrative offers from LIV. But if utterances from Monahan and McIlroy are anything to go by, “the only thing that matters to fans and the game is reunification.”

“Everyone has just got to get over it and we all have to say, OK, this is the starting point and we move forward. We don’t look behind us, we don’t look to the past,” McIlroy said. “If people have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, who cares?” the World No.3 said.

Both believe next year could bring some definite breakthroughs.

“Everything is moving forward with pace. … There’s a general enthusiasm for getting this done,” Monahan said in a statement.

According to McIlroy, “In ’26, you could get to a point where we play together more often. I think there’s an opportunity here.”