Rory McIlroy claims Donald Trump has 'smartest man in the world' working for him

Donald Trump claimed he could help the PGA Tour and LIV Golf come to an agreement within 15 minutes and Rory McIlroy believes Elon Musk could also play a part in the deal

Rory McIlroy believes having the input of both Donald Trump and Elon Musk could be key in the PGA Tour finalising their framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

The PGA Tour and PIF have been in talks since last June to resolve their long-standing dispute with LIV Golf. This week, Trump, who is a keen golfer, claimed he could broker a peace deal between the two parties within 15 minutes. “It would be nice if they could all play together," he told the 'Let Go' podcast.

"It's terrible when somebody's shut out of a major. It's terrible. But they're very happy with Saudi. They're over there and they're very happy about it. They really are. It's amazing.

If you speak to them, they're happy with their decisions. They made more money than they probably could ever have made. They got checks from, in some cases, hundreds of millions of dollars. So it's hard to say, ‘Gee, I'm going to be happy because I can't play in a certain location.’ That's not that important...

"Yeah, I could certainly help I could probably get it done. I would say it would take me the better part of 15 minutes to get that deal done." Following Trump's confirmed election victory, McIlroy was asked if he thought the 78 year old could help secure a deal. The Northern Irishman believes Trump's connection to Musk could be beneficial.

"[Trump] might be able to [help sign off a merger deal]," he said at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. "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.

"Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it's probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But 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?

"But I think as the President of the United States again, he's probably got bigger things to focus on than golf." After months of speculation, a report from The Sun last weekend suggested an agreement had been reached, with the PIF ready to inject £1 billion into the PGA Tour.

McIlroy however - who has been at the centre of the saga and part of the PGA Tour's transaction committee - downplayed the recent developments "It's the first that I've heard of it," the Race to Dubai standings leader claimed.

"I know Jay [Monahan] was in Saudi Arabia last week at the FII and was holding meetings. I think I would've heard if there was. He's briefing the transaction committee tonight, so maybe we'll get some news then. But to my knowledge, no, I haven't heard a thing."