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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Paul Higham

Adam Scott Explains How President Trump Can Speed Up PGA Tour-PIF Deal

Adam Scott celebrates holing a putt in the Presidents Cup Friday foursomes.

As a Player Director, Adam Scott was in the privileged position of attending the White House meeting with US President Donald Trump.

The Australian joined PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in the meeting with Trump, who had previously said he could sort out a deal with the Saudi PIF in 15 minutes.

It of course will take a little longer, but Trump's position as US President, his relationships with both sides and his passion for golf can all help accelerate the deal according to Scott.

Trump being invovled could also help with any possible problems arising from the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into a potential deal to decide if it would cause any antitrust violations.

“It’s just a positive thing that the President of the United States is such a lover of the game of golf and understands some of the challenges facing the professional game at the moment,” Scott told the Golf Channel at the Genesis Invitational.

“Given how things are sitting with the Department of Justice among the professional game, this is all crazy stuff, he’s a lover of the game and hopefully will be very helpful for the professional game and help everybody move forward."

Rory McIlroy also talked about Trump's possible impact after playing golf with the President - saying he was on the PGA Tour's side.

Tiger Woods' involvement has also been crucial, with Trump naturally a big fan, but the President's PIF relationship could also be a big factor.

“The president is passionate about [golf], he owns several golf properties, fabulous destinations around the world," added Scott.

"He has a relationship with Saudi Arabia and the Public Investment Fund. I genuinely think he’s a fan of the PGA Tour, as well, and he’s certainly a fan of Tiger Woods, most people are.

“Given this has been tied up he can be very helpful.”

(Image credit: Getty Images)

But it seems Scott's main takeaway from the meeting was how Trump could help with the DOJ investigation, and speed up that process.

It has been ongoing since before Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan made their famous TV announcement, and it could drag on if and when a final deal is signed.

Having the President of the United States involved, obviously, would help hurry up the process.

“The difficult thing for maybe the administrations to understand, why professional golf coming back together, working more harmoniously, let’s say, is not a breech of antitrust or anticompetitive issues. That’s what’s really been looked at,” Scott said.

“Hopefully this can be helped by the president and things can move forward at a faster pace.”

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