{"id":7252,"date":"2025-04-10T07:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T07:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/7252\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T07:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T07:44:08","slug":"donald-trump-said-he-could-fix-golf-in-15-minutes-why-has-nothing-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/7252\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump said he could fix golf in 15 minutes – why has nothing happened?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\tCan Donald Trump reunite men\u2019s professional golf? (Picture: Getty\/Metro)<\/p>\n

The return of the Masters<\/a> in April has come to mean more than just the start of golf\u2019s major season for many ardent fans.<\/p>\n

Since the emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf in 2021, the professional side of the men\u2019s sport has been enveloped by a divisive rift which has seen many of the game\u2019s biggest stars competing on two rival tours.<\/p>\n

As such, the annual spring pilgrimage to Augusta National has come to represent a week of healing for the game, as all the best players come back together for the first time in the calendar year.<\/p>\n

There had been hopes that the game would have reunited by now given a framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV, was first announced back in June 2023.<\/a><\/p>\n

But almost two years on, a finalised agreement to end golf\u2019s civil war still remains elusive. <\/p>\n

Enter Donald Trump<\/a>. The American President, no stranger to hyperbole, suggested before his re-election in November that he would need just 15 minutes to help both sides thrash out a deal.<\/p>\n

Reality, though, has proved a tad more complicated.<\/p>\n

Hopes for the Trump administration<\/p>\n

\t\t\"President
\n\t\tTrump, pictured alongside Tiger Woods, has been a key proponent of a deal to reunify golf (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

It had been hoped that Trump\u2019s electoral victory would prove a pivotal moment in helping to push a deal between the PIF and the PGA Tour over the line.<\/p>\n

After all, with Joe Biden in charge, progress over a potential deal had become bogged down by an anti-trust investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ).<\/p>\n

\u2018The Biden administration had a stated priority of worker empowerment and applied that priority somewhat non discriminately,\u2019 Jodi Balsam, sports law professor at Brooklyn Law School, told Metro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018And so in this case, they began siding with the idea that millionaire golfers should have multiple opportunities beyond the PGA Tour to ply their trade and having, therefore, some scepticism about a partnership between LIV and the PGA Tour.\u2019<\/p>\n

The early signs from Trump, meanwhile, were promising. The 78-year-old, a keen golfer who has business ties with both LIV and Saudi Arabia, suggested any deal between both parties would get only a cursory review from the DOJ.<\/p>\n

He even helped broker a meeting at the White House in February with key members from both sides such as PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n

But while those talks were heralded as \u2018constructive\u2019 by the PGA Tour, there has been little in the way of progress toward reconciliation between both sides in the following two months.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s gone wrong?<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Alfred
\n\t\tKey powerbrokers Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan have met publically on several occasions (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Trump has not changed his tune on a deal between both sides. Speaking before LIV\u2019s most recent event in Miami \u2013 held at his course in Doral \u2013 the President said he was still \u2018hopeful the two tours are going to merge\u2019.<\/p>\n

The problem, therefore, lies with the two rival tours who still appear some distance apart on several key issues. There is the problem of how to reintegrate LIV players back onto the PGA Tour but, perhaps crucially, still no clarity on what LIV\u2019s future would look like should the PIF invest in the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

The breakaway tour has attracted many star names with lucrative signing fees<\/a> but has struggled to attract sizeable viewing figures let alone turn itself into a profitable business entity.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tWho are the biggest names who joined LIV Golf?\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Phil Mickelson:<\/strong> Seen as a key figure behind the formation of the Saudi breakaway circuit, Mickelson was one of the first big names to throw his support behind LIV Golf as a disruptor in men\u2019s elite golf.<\/p>\n

The six-time major winner reportedly received a $200 million (\u00a3156m) signing bonus when he joined in June 2022.<\/p>\n

Jon Rahm<\/strong>: Perhaps the most shocking defection to LIV came in the way of Rahm who had long been a vocal critic of the Saudi-backed tour.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"The
\n\t\tJon Rahm joined LIV as the Masters champion in December 2023 (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

However, in December 2023, the then-ranked World No.3 joined LIV as part of a mind-boggling $300m (\u00a3234m) deal which made him the highest paid sportsman in the world ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.<\/p>\n

Bryson DeChambeau: <\/strong>The swashbuckling, big-hitting American was another early defector to LIV in June 2022, reportedly receiving a $125m (\u00a398m) fee to leave behind the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

Since then, DeChamambeau has seen his popularity and following skyrocket, while also claiming his second career major at last year\u2019s US Open.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s kind of an open secret that LIV\u2019s viewership numbers are not improving, despite them spending billions of dollars on high profile stars and a TV deal,\u2019 sports law attorney John Nucci\u00a0said, speaking to Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2018The longer that goes on, the less influence and the less leverage they have in these negotiations.\u00a0The PGA Tour isn\u2019t going to be keen to just give the PIF all sorts of veto rights when the product that they\u2019re bringing in now is fairly weak. <\/p>\n

\u2018I think the landscape has shifted a little bit, which is probably why this is continuing to drag on so much. The PGA Tour is probably now digging in a little more and saying, \u2018We\u2019re not giving you all of these things that you initially wanted, and that we were willing to give you two years ago\u2019.\u2019<\/p>\n

Where do we go next?<\/p>\n

\t\t\"The
\n\t\tRory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have ended up on different sides of golf\u2019s civil war (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Without any tangible progress towards an agreement between both parties, Trump\u2019s ability to impact proceedings is somewhat limited.<\/p>\n

Recent reports<\/a> suggested a PIF proposal to invest $1.5bn (\u00a31.14bn) in the PGA Tour was swiftly rejected due to the excessive concessions demanded by the Saudi investment fund.<\/p>\n

\u2018The obstacle here is that everybody involved in the world of professional golf sees LIV Golf as a pawn, but Al-Rumayyan thinks he\u2019s playing with the queen,\u2019 Balsam said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tWho are the biggest stars still on the PGA Tour?\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Tiger Woods<\/strong>: While his ageing body and persistent struggles with injuryhave hampered his ability to compete in recent years, Woods remains far and away the biggest name in professional golf.<\/p>\n

The American has won 82 times on the PGA Tour but has not teed it up in competition since last summer\u2019s Open Championship at Royal Troon.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"TGL
\n\t\tTiger Woods last competed at last summer\u2019s Open (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy<\/strong>: The current World No.2 may not have won a major since 2014, but has continued to be one of the biggest and most consistent players on the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

The Northern Irishman has been the most vocal critic of LIV since its inception, even suggesting he would rather retire than compete on the Saudi-backed\u00a0tour even if it \u2018was the last place on Earth to play golf\u2019.<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler<\/strong>: The American has been World No.1 for close to 100 weeks now, a clear indicator of his relentless consistency and supreme ball-striking ability.<\/p>\n

Scheffler, a two-time major champion, heads into this week\u2019s Masters as the defending champion after his superb final-round performance at Augusta National last year.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018He has now spent $5 billion of his monarch\u2019s money with no real prospect of progress towards generating any return on that investment. But despite that, he\u2019s not ready to give up on LIV entirely which has stifled a deal.\u2019<\/p>\n

And as time has gone on, even ardent supporters of reunification, such as World No.2 Rory McIlroy, have suggested that a deal is no longer essential for the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think the narrative around golf would welcome a deal in terms of just having all the best players together again. But I don\u2019t think the PGA Tour needs a deal,\u2019 McIlroy said last month. \u2018I think our momentum is pretty strong.\u2019<\/p>\n

What remains clear, however, is that Trump is unlikely to stand in the way if any agreement is reached. Any potential merger would require a filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act due to the huge sums of money involved, but Trump\u2019s administration is under no obligation to review that filing or scrutinise the deal.<\/p>\n

\u2018We live in this little bubble of golf, but realistically, if Trump wants to throw a bone to an international ally in Saudi Arabia by rubber stamping and passing along a deal like this, then he may well do that,\u2019 Nucci added.<\/p>\n

And so, with Trump still ready to roll out the red carpet for golf\u2019s reunification, it would appear that the sport and its powerbrokers are the only ones standing in the way.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
\nFacebook<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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