Donald Trump has been selected as the 47th President of the United States. As the newly elected leader, the 78-year-old will undoubtedly have many things to take care of. When it comes to golf, though, one thing he may be helpful with is the delayed PGA Tour and PIF merger. It has been over a year since the merger has been announced. Yet there’s no completion date in sight. And, if you remember, once Trump had openly declared that he could solve this in just 15 minutes. So, as he stood at the podium as the new President, on the other side of the globe, in Abu Dhabi Rory McIlroy—LIV’s (once) biggest critic, and now one of the biggest names yearning for a merger—was asked about this.

At the press conference of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Northern Irishman was asked about his thoughts on this claim of Trump, and, surprisingly, he claimed to trust it. But not because of Trump himself. Instead, it’s Elon Musk who has the golfer believing.

“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.”

Clearly, McIlroy truly believes in Musk, and after this statement, the X owner may get involved. But the 4-time major champion didn’t cut short Trump’s chances of finalizing the merger either. He expressed that the merger looks a bit uncomplicated from the outside. But given Trump’s love for golf and his relationship with Saudi Arabia, McIlroy said in the interview, “Obviously Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?” 

Like we said before, though, President Trump would have many other important businesses at hand and McIlroy agreed that the merger may not be his priority at the moment. However, while it may not be the number one thing on the President’s list, it surely is a priority for a golf enthusiast. In the past year, all that has been heard is that it will be finalized soon. As the 2024 season soon ends, what’s the update on the merger?

Rory McIlroy has a small hint about the PGA Tour-PIF merger

When Jay Monahan and Yasir-Al Rumyyan shook hands for the first time on June 6th, 2023 for the PGA Tour and PIF merger, the finalization date was expected to be 30th, December 2023. However, it is a well-known fact that nothing was completed by then. A few months after, DP World’s [not the tour but its sponsor] Group Chief Communications Officer, Daniel Van Otterdijk said that the merger would be signed in the next six months.

But Rory McIlroy had predicted its finalization to be in 2026. Now, at the same press conference, the Northern Irishman addressed the rumors that he and Tiger Woods helped in breaking the deal between the PIF and PGA Tour. To which, McIlroy clarified, “It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” However, he revealed that Jay Monahan was in Saudi Arabia, and said, “I know Jay was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII and was having some meetings. “He’s briefing the transaction committee tonight, maybe some news comes out of that.”

So, hopefully, in a few days, there will be positive news about the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF. Till then, just like McIlroy, the golf world could only hope that Musk or anyone else could get involved for a quick finalization.