Donald Trump has met in recent days with key figures in the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
THE Washington Post was the first to report that Trump, who was elected to his second term as president earlier this month, played a round of golf with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on Friday at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The tour, believed to have been initiated by Trump, was confirmed to the Post by a PGA Tour spokesperson, who issued the following statement: “President-elect Trump has always been a champion of golf, and Commissioner Monahan has been honored to accept. his invitation to perform at Trump International. The President-elect and the Commissioner share a love for the game and the Commissioner enjoyed their time together.
Then on Saturday night, Trump attended UFC 309 at New York’s Madison Square Garden with several recent cabinet members, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, as well as musician Kid Rock, billionaire Elon Musk and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. who sat at ringside directly to Trump’s right and was seen chatting with Trump several times during the telecast.
The Post said “the exact nature and details of the meetings are uncertain.”
The PGA Tour and PIF have been working toward a deal since announcing a framework agreement in June 2023. The original deadline passed last Dec. 31, and details are scarce on the progress made by the two parts. Monahan made his final trip to Saudi Arabia for the FII Institute’s annual conference in late October. This happened after Monahan and Al-Rumayyan were in the same group for a round at the DP World Tour’s Dunhill Links Championship.
While the U.S. Department of Justice remains one of the main obstacles to a deal, according to Rory McIlroy, a member of the Tour’s transaction subcommittee, Trump earlier this month proclaimed the “Let’s do it!” podcast with Jim Gray and Bill Belichick that it would take him “the better part of 15 minutes to get this deal done.”
“I’m definitely going to work on other things, to be honest with you,” Trump added. “I think we have much bigger problems than that. But I think we should have one tour, and they should have the best players on that tour.
McIlroy said two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi that Trump’s recent victory over Vice President Kamala Harris “paves the way a little” for a deal to be reached.
“He might be able to do it,” McIlroy said. “He has Elon Musk on his side, who, in my opinion, is the smartest man in the world. We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved as well.
McIlroy then added: “I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But it is clear that Trump has excellent relations with Saudi Arabia. He has a great relationship with golf. He is a golf lover. So, maybe. Who knows? But I think as president of the United States, he probably has more important things to focus on than golf.
