PGA TOUR is Leaning on ‘Imperative’ President Trump to Merge it with Saudi PIF

The PGA TOUR’s continuing negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have led it to lean on President Trump, who was called by sources “imperative” to the TOUR’s ability to merge with the financier of its biggest rival, LIV Golf.

Things with the PGA TOUR and the PIF seemed to be at a relative standstill until a few weeks ago when player directors Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, along with commissioner Jay Monahan put out a statement that seemed to indicate things were moving in the right direction once again.

However, this statement was different than the others because it truly identified President Donald Trump as a major reason for things moving forward:

Thoughts?

Is this a real update?? https://t.co/UHXTwv0P0J

— Golficity (@Golficity) February 6, 2025

A new report indicates that the TOUR is still leaning on the President due to his ties with the PIF and its governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan. A few weeks ago, Rory McIlroy said it best:

“The President, he can do a lot of things. … 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.”

But President Trump’s power in these negotiations seems to be more than just “influential,” especially from the TOUR’s perspective.

According to a new report from Golf Digest, sources close to the TOUR believe that without President Trump, a deal could be harder to come by:

“Sources with the PGA Tour believe Trump is imperative to talks, given his ties with PIF and Al-Rumayyan. While those with the tour say more progress has been made than has been reported in the media, they also recognize that the tour has blown past its originally stated date to have a deal finalized (Dec. 31, 2023) and believe Trump can be the one to bring it together.”

There is still no true indication that a deal is imminent, but things seem to be moving forward, especially considering many TOUR sources stating that there has been more progress made than media reports. Of course, it is impossible to know exactly how much progress has been made and how close reunification of the professional ranks is.

Nevertheless, the division in golf has truly gone on for far too long, so long, in fact, that some LIV Golfers are set to take on their second contract with the league.

Cover Image via Golf Digest Middle East