LIV Golf agrees deal to screen live golf on ITV as President Trump intervenes over sport's merger

LIV Golf has agreed a “milestone” deal with ITV to show live coverage of the Saudi-funded breakaway's 2025 season in the UK. Coverage will begin with the second round of the season-opening event in Riyadh, with 41 rounds of live golf shown across 14 tournaments on ITVX. Selected rounds will also be shown on ITV1 and ITV4, along with a weekly highlights show on ITV4, featuring players such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka.

Following a new partnership with Fox Sports in the United States, the agreement means LIV Golf will be the only free-to-air golf in the UK. Niall Sloane, director of ITV Sport, said: "This is an exciting time for LIV Golf as we look ahead to the innovative 2025 season. "This partnership delivers free-to-air coverage for fans in the UK and we are delighted to welcome LIV Golf to ITV Sport.". “Our partnership with ITV represents a major milestone as we strive to bring LIV Golf to every corner of the world,” said Ron Wechsler, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of broadcast partnerships and programming strategy.

“With a premier sports broadcaster like ITV, we can ensure that more fans than ever will be able to access the excitement of the LIV Golf experience and connect with the world-class players, teams, and stories that make us a truly standalone global sports league.". The news comes two days after the US Open became the first major championship to offer a direct exemption to a LIV player via the league's standings.

The leading player, who is not otherwise exempt and is in the top three of the standings on May 19, will earn a place in the field at Oakmont from June 12-15. The news comes in the week that a merger between the sport’s warring factions moved closer after the intervention of President Trump. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met with Trump on Tuesday as efforts continue to strike a deal between the US-based circuit, the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf.

Talks have been ongoing since the signing of a framework agreement in June 2023. A statement released on Thursday on behalf of Monahan, Scott and fellow player director Tiger Woods said: "We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support of the game of golf. "We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved.

"We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men's professional golf.". Rory McIlroy said in November that he believed Trump becoming US president for the second time could help "clear the way" for a peace deal in golf's civil war. The four-time major winner had previously said that a 50-50 split between players on both sides and the US Department of Justice represented the biggest obstacles to a deal, with the DOJ having already forced a non-solicitation clause to be removed from the framework agreement.

However, Trump will be able to influence the priorities of the DOJ and has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia and LIV Golf, with several of their 54-hole events being staged at Trump-owned courses. Speaking the day after the US presidential election, McIlroy was asked if he would be surprised if a deal had already been completed, as was reported in a national newspaper at the weekend. "Yeah, I would, but then obviously given today's news with what's happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit. So we'll see," McIlroy said.

McIlroy also agreed with the suggestion that the DOJ being more amenable to a deal would be "a huge moment" and was asked in a separate interview about Trump's claim that he could secure a deal in 15 minutes. "He might be able to," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "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.