US President-elect Donald Trump has met with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Public Funding Fund boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan, leaders of the 2 sides deadlocked in talks over bridging the divide in males’s golf.
Watch each spherical of the PGA Tour LIVE & Unique on Fox Sports activities, out there on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for simply $1. Restricted time supply.
The Washington Submit reported on Sunday that Trump, who has hosted PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf occasions on his programs, performed golf with Monahan on Friday at Trump Worldwide Golf Membership in West Palm Seaside, Florida.
The newspaper additionally mentioned Trump then sat subsequent to the Saudi wealth fund director at Saturday’s UFC occasion at New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard.
A framework merger settlement was introduced in June 2023 between Monahan and Al-Rumayyan to nice controversy given talks have been carried out in secrecy and Monahan had derided LIV for months to gamers to keep away from having extra stars defect to the upstart collection that launched in 2022.
Talks blew previous a deadline of final December and have continued with little progress since then, leaving males’s elite golf struggling to plan a future with high expertise divided between PGA and LIV.
A PGA Tour spokesman confirmed the Trump-Monahan session, the Submit reported. “President-Elect Trump has all the time been a champion of the sport of golf and commissioner Monahan was honoured to just accept his invitation to play at Trump Worldwide,” the spokesman informed the paper in a press release.
“The President-Elect and the Commissioner share a love for the sport and the Commissioner loved their time collectively,” he added.
McIlroy claims DP World & Dubai titles | 00:53
Trump programs have hosted 5 LIV occasions for the reason that Saudi-backed collection started. PGA occasions had been staged at different programs Trump owns.
Negotiators for the PGA Tour embrace 15-time main winner Tiger Woods. Trump mentioned earlier this month he might assist dealer a deal between the 2 sides, saying on a podcast, “I’d say it will take me the higher a part of quarter-hour to get that deal performed.” “I’m actually going to work on different issues, to be trustworthy with you. I feel we have now a lot larger issues than that. However I do suppose we must always have one tour and they need to have one of the best gamers in that tour.” Rory McIlroy, who gained the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Sunday, informed reporters Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who sat to the opposite facet of Trump in New York, might assist type out a deal.
“He would possibly have the ability to,” McIlroy mentioned. “He’s received Elon Musk, who I feel is the neatest man on this planet, beside him. We’d have the ability to do one thing if we are able to get Musk concerned, too.
Cam Smith produces shocker ultimate spherical | 01:09
“Clearly Trump has a terrific relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s received a terrific relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, perhaps. Who is aware of? However I feel because the president of the US once more, he’s most likely received larger issues to give attention to than golf.” Amongst points with a PGA-LIV deal are US Justice Division considerations over Saudi investments and anti-trust laws.
LIV and the PGA Tour have already introduced plans for the 2025 season.