Rory McIlroy reveals what President Donald Trump told him about fixing the LIV-PGA divide during recent round of golf

RORY McIlroy has revealed that he played a round of golf with President Donald Trump in January.

The Northern Irishman was speaking ahead of The Genesis Invitational, which gets underway on Thursday afternoon.

LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have been embroiled in a civil war since the emergence of the PIF-backed league.

Thirty-seven-year-old McIlroy, who has made a stunning U-turn regarding LIV Golf over the last year, had previously been one of its most outspoken critics.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan met with Trump last week as they hope to strike a deal between the US-based circuit, the DP World Tour, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Talks have been ongoing since the signing of a framework agreement in June 2023.

But when asked about what was discussed during the round with the golf-mad US President, the Holywood hotshot believes Trump can do a huge amount to help close the divide between the rival tours.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, is well known to Trump and the PGA Tour, and McIlroy believes that could be crucial in any potential deal.

McIlroy said the meeting went well ahead of the third Signature event of the year.

He stated: “So the president, he can do a lot of things.

“He has direct access to Yasir’s boss [Mohammed bin Salman]. 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.’

“He [Trump] can be influential. I saw it when I was playing with Sheikh Hamdan of Abu Dhabi the day he got elected in November and the respect he has in the Middle East.

“I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has there.

“So I think whenever he says something, they listen, and I think that’s a big thing.”a few weeks ago”.

The six-time Race to Dubai winner also praised LIV for helping the money go up in the game of golf, and specifically on the PGA Tour with the emergence of Signature tournaments.

He added: “Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we have all benefited from this,”

“I’ve been on the record saying this a lot, like we’re playing for a $20m prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t have come around.”