The PGA – PIF merger fiasco has been going on for far too long. Both parties involved have been hesitant to finalize the deal and bring the Tours together. Jay Monahan and co. have not been that eager about the project and Yasir Al-Rumayyan‘s team have primarily focused on the growth of their venture.

Despite that, both sides understand the benefits of the merger. For the PGA, they will regain control of being the premium golf league in the world. As far as Greg Norman’s LIV Golf is concerned, they will gain more viewers and profitable opportunities by associating themselves with the most recognized league in golf. As per a report by The Sun, the merger is almost signed and sealed, barring a few final steps. But one individual associated with golf, particularly LIV Golf, doesn’t believe the situation is as ideal as it is presented.

Donald Trump’s views on the merger

In the recent Let’s Go! podcast, Donald Trump joined Jim Gray and Bill Belichick for an exclusive interview. The trio discussed the state of sports in the USA, especially golf. Trump, who himself is an avid fan of golf, was asked about the current situation of the merger and how he would like to get involved in it if he gets elected again.

As the United States presidential elections are coming to a close, Trump stated that he won’t have the time to get involved in the merger now as he has “much bigger problems than that” to deal with at the moment. But he did not shy away from sharing his views about the current situation.

Donald Trump believes that golf “should have one tour” which includes all of the best players in the world. He elaborated, “There’s a lot of great players. Really top, top players on LIV. And it would be nice if they could all play together.” Disappointed by the division of the players in different leagues, Trump said, “It’s terrible when somebody is shut out of a major.”

As per Trump’s claims, it seems that there are still a lot of issues in the merger as LIV Golf players are still getting ‘shut out‘ of playing the majors. This contradicts the statement made by The Sun which said that the merger is coming to a close and that the LIV Golf events will be played under the PGA Tour ‘umbrella‘.

Donald Trump went on to share how pleased LIV Golf players are with their situation. He said, “They’re very happy with the Saudis. They’re over there and they are very happy about it.” Trump explains why the players are happy by saying, “They’ve made more money than they probably could have ever made. They’ve got checks for… in some cases 100s of millions of dollars.” He further states that there is no reason for the LIV Golf players to be unhappy just because they “can’t play in certain locations. It’s not that important“.

In the end, Donald Trump did admit that the merger would eventually come together. However, he did leave a slight remark stating that he would’ve taken “a better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done” had he been involved in it.

What do you think about Donald Trump’s views? Do you think the PGA Tour would have benefitted from having such a business expert to represent them during the deal? Let us know in the comments section.