Rory McIlroy believes Elon Musk could help broker a deal between the PGA, DP World Tour and LIV Golf after shutting down reports from British tabloids that an agreement had already been made.
According to The Sun, the long-awaited merger between the rival circuits is allegedly complete, with LIV Golf’s backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), set to pay $1 billion for an 11 percent stake in the PGA Tour.
The report also claimed that, in return, PIF would receive two seats on the PGA Tour board, including the chairman position.
However, multiple industry sources suggest the reports are premature, and McIlroy himself confirmed that any talk of a finalised deal is news to him.
“Yeah, it's the first that I've heard of it,” McIlory told reporters ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“I know Jay (Monahan) was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII and was having some meetings. But no, I think I would have heard if there was.
“I know he's briefing the transaction committee tonight. So maybe some news comes out of that.
“But as far as I'm aware, I haven't heard a thing.”
When it was suggested to McIlroy that newly re-elected U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he could settle the LIV/PGA Tour deal in 15 minutes, McIlroy responded by highlighting the influence of Trump’s team.
“He might be able to,” said McIlroy.
“He's got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him. We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too.
“Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it's probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But obviously Trump has great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He's got a great relationship with golf. He's a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?
“But I think as the President of the United States again, he's probably got bigger things to focus on than golf.”
Tribute to McLoughlin
In his press conference, McIlroy also paid tribute to the late Colm McLoughlin, former Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.
Under McLoughlin’s leadership, the world’s largest duty-free operator sponsored the Irish Open from 2015 to 2022, helping the tournament grow into one of the DP World Tour’s premier events.
Thanks to this support, the prize fund rose from an initial €2.5 million to USD $7 million when the Irish Open became one of the eight prestigious Rolex Series tournaments on the Race to Dubai from 2017 to 2019.
“Obviously they sponsored The Irish Open when I hosted it for a few years,” said McIlroy.
“Their support was amazing. It bumped the prize fund up of The Irish Open. It enticed a few more players to come and play the event that wouldn't necessarily play the event.
“Colm was a great supporter of sport and golf in Ireland, and obviously built an incredibly successful business here in the region and he'll be dearly missed. He was a great man.”
