Yet he chose to do what he always does in press conferences (not always wisely): answer the question he was asked. In this instance, on this day, he ought to have taken a lead from his late compatriot, Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney: “Whatever you say, you say nothing.”

Rory McIlroy, a critic of LIV Golf, says Donald Trump's presidential win could 'clear the way' for a deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund that owns LIV.