Rory McIlroy’s Confidence in Tatters as Donald Trump Revives PGA Tour Merger Hopes Amid LIV Golf Miami Visit

When President Donald Trump hosted the PGA Championship at Trump National in Bedminster in 2022, few would have predicted that three years later he’d be actively working to unite golf’s fractured landscape. Yet here we are. The 47th president has now stepped directly into professional golf’s ongoing civil war. And his latest move has completely contradicted what Rory McIlroy claimed about him just weeks ago.

McIlroy had confidently told reporters at the Genesis Invitational that Trump wasn’t fond of LIV Golf’s format. “I learned that he’s not a fan of the LIV format,” the Northern Irishman revealed in February. “I was like, ‘But you’ve hosted their events?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it.’ So I think he’s on the Tour’s side.”

But those claims now look questionable at best. Marine One landed at Trump Doral on Thursday for the LIV Golf Miami event. Trump arrived in presidential fashion to attend the Saudi-backed league’s tournament. He even planned to deliver a speech at a dinner with LIV players that evening.

The president quickly reinforced his commitment to a merger. “Ultimately, hopefully, the two tours are going to merge. That’ll be good. I’m involved in that too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

#NEW: Marine One has landed on the course with President Trump arriving on the grounds at Doral for this week’s LIV Golf event. He will reportedly attend a dinner this evening with the tournament, per @HowardMortman pic.twitter.com/XXbLENCaz1

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 3, 2025

The post Rory McIlroy’s Confidence in Tatters as Donald Trump Revives PGA Tour Merger Hopes Amid LIV Golf Miami Visit appeared first on EssentiallySports.