Trump Urges PGA Tour To Bring Back LIV Rebels — Liv Golf News
Donald Trump said he would like to see LIV Golf players back on the PGA Tour after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew funding, putting liv golf news at the center of another clash over who belongs in men’s golf. He said he wanted the best players back in the same fields, not split across two circuits.
Trump National And The Tour
Asked in the Oval Office whether the PGA Tour should welcome back golfers who jumped to LIV, Trump answered, “Well, I do.” He added, “I’d love to see LIV. But I do believe that all of the golfers should be playing – the great golfers – should be playing against each other.”
He pushed the point further by naming the matchups he wants to see: “I want to see Rory [McIlroy] playing Bryson DeChambeau. I want to see big Jon Rahm play Scottie [Scheffler], who is so great.” Trump also said, “There’s something nice about all of the players playing together. Now they’ll all be accepted by the tour … they’ll all be back on tour and it’ll be great.”
He said, “I’m not sure what’s happening with LIV, but they are playing at my course in two weeks, on the Potomac.” LIV’s next event was set for 7-10 May at Trump National just outside Washington, which keeps the league on the schedule even as its funding picture shifts.
Funding Drop And Fallout
The withdrawal of Saudi funding landed after LIV postponed its June tournament in New Orleans and said it hoped to reschedule it later this year. The league was founded in 2021, and the move brings a fresh round of pressure after years of anger from PGA Tour loyalists who resented the lucrative contracts backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Brian Harman, the 2023 Open champion, said golfers who left should face consequences if they want back in. “I would think that the fans want everyone to be playing together and time heals all wounds,” he said, but he also drew a harder line: “That stuff’s going to be tough to get past.”
Harman added, “I think there has to be something” to ease the bad blood and resentment, and he said, “The funding’s drying up. They could secure funding from somewhere else and keep going.” His comments left open the same split that has followed LIV from the start: a path back may exist, but it would not come without some cost.
Possible Road Back
Jordan Spieth said he was glad he was not asked to make the decision after the tensions that erupted. “I know olive branches were given out, you know, a couple months ago. Brooks took them up on it. So I’m not sure what would now change,” he said.
That matters because Brooks Koepka has already returned to the PGA fold under a returning member programme that includes substantial financial penalties. The PGA Tour also imposed suspensions on 11 golfers after they signed big-money contracts with LIV in 2021, and Phil Mickelson was among the 11 who filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the tour in 2022.
Trump’s push, Harman’s warning, and Spieth’s hesitation all point to the same problem: the door back may not open cleanly. If LIV’s funding stays in doubt, the next move could come from players weighing whether the cost of a return is lower than staying in a league whose future now looks less fixed than it did a week ago.
