Earlier this month PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan implored Trump to moderate the merger negotiations between his circuit and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which would enrich the family business. “One doesn’t know if he is acting as president of the United States or simply as a businessman, in trying to promote this merger,” US representative Jamie... See more

The Saudi-backed LIV soon came to the rescue. It has held more events at Trump courses than at any other American golf brand since its founding three years ago.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen found herself at the centre of this unabashed "golf diplomacy" on Sunday, as she visited the US president's Turnberry course to seal an EU-US trade deal.

Criticised by some European political leaders as a capitulation by Brussels, the pair announced the pact to the world from a lavish ballroom named... See more