Report: Tiger Woods, PGA Tour meet with Saudi Arabia’s PIF amid $1B golf deal rumors
Tiger Woods will reportedly join PGA Tour officials for talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund this week.
According to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, Woods and fellow golfer Adam Scott will attend the talks, which are scheduled for Tuesday in New York and are expected to last several days. If an agreement is reached, it would inject more than $1 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises through the PIF.
In June 2023, a press release announced that the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour had agreed to merge, bringing to an end the contentious relationship between the PGA and LIV. At that time, it was noted that PIFs have invested in a new company and the PGA tour has appointed most of the PGA Tour members Jimonahan’s committee.
Schlabah and Joel Bill of Golf Digest later reported that the PGA tour was determined that the fate of Liv Golf is advancing. However, the agreement has yet to be finalized and the deadline for signing it has passed on December 31st.
Even so, the PGA Tour and PIF have continued to negotiate, and Monahan expressed optimism last month over a deal getting done, per Schlabach:
\”I would say that the priority, it\’s been enhanced. It\’s stronger. This is a direct result of dialogue and conversation, and it really started a conversation about the future, the future vision for the product and the direction of the sport.
“I think when you have a productive conversation, you increase the likelihood of a positive outcome and also the spirit of the same conversation. I guess that’s just how things happen.
LIV Golf was founded in 2021 and began play in 2022 with funding from the Saudi PIF.
It was intended to be a direct competitor to the PGA Tour and featured several notable golfers from the tour, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson. LIV’s partnership with the PGA Tour was supposed to keep other golfers from leaving the tour, but long after the deal was completed, LIV dealt the PGA Tour another blow when it signed two-time major champion Jon Rahm in December.
Since LIV’s inception, the PGA Tour has barred LIV golfers from participating in PGA Tour events, but has allowed them to play in majors if they are eligible. A letter Monahan sent to players after the merger was announced in June 2023 indicated that golfers who left the PGA Tour for LIV would have the opportunity to apply for reinstatement.
Talks haven’t seemed to be moving forward for months, but with Monahan recently expressing his hope and the involvement of golf icon Woods, things could be moving in the right direction again.
