Tiger Woods mentioned on Sunday that talks towards a deal that may resolve the fissure in golf between the U.S.-based PGA Tour and Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf are transferring in the proper path.
Woods added that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Participant Director Adam Scott had a productive assembly with U.S. President Donald Trump this month, the place they requested him to become involved in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund.
“I feel we’re in a really optimistic place proper now,” Woods mentioned throughout the CBS Sports activities broadcast of the Genesis Open in San Diego.
“We had a gathering with the president. Sadly, I had another circumstances that got here up however Jay and Adam, they did nice throughout the assembly and we have now a subsequent assembly arising,” he mentioned.
“I feel issues are going to heal shortly. We’re going to get this sport getting into the proper path. It has been headed within the incorrect path for quite a lot of years.
“The followers need all the highest gamers enjoying collectively and we’re going to make that occur.”
LIV Golf, which options no-cut, 54-hole occasions, held its inaugural occasion in June 2022, and thru mega-money contracts and profitable purses has since lured quite a lot of golf’s greatest names, together with main champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
After a 12 months of acrimony, the PGA Tour, PIF and Europe-based DP World Tour introduced a framework settlement in June 2023 to deal with their business operations in a brand new entity and set Dec. 31 of that 12 months as a deadline to succeed in a definitive settlement.
That announcement introduced an finish to authorized battles between the events however raised issues in Washington from lawmakers who’re mistrustful of Saudi Arabia and significant of the nation’s human rights file.
The perimeters prolonged the deadline and as talks with the PIF dragged on, exterior investor curiosity within the PGA Tour heated up by the use of Strategic Sports activities Group, an funding group headlined by Fenway Sports activities Group.
LIV Golf has performed at programs owned by Trump since its inception and can accomplish that once more in 2025 with its April 4-6 occasion scheduled to be held at Trump Nationwide Doral in Miami.