Report: Tiger Woods, PGA Tour Meeting with Saudi PIF amid Rumored $1B Golf Deal
Tiger Woods will reportedly join PGA Tour officials for their negotiations with Saudi Arabia\’s Public Investment Fund this week.
According to ESPN\’s Mark Schlabach, Woods and fellow golfer Adam Scott will be part of the talks, which are scheduled for Tuesday in New York City and are expected to continue for multiple days. If an agreement is reached, more than $1 billion will be pumped 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, seemingly ending the hostility between the PGA and LIV. At the time, it was noted that PIF would invest in the new company, the PGA Tour would appoint a majority of the board, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan would serve as CEO.
Golf Digest’s Schlabach and Joel Beal later reported that the PGA Tour would decide the fate of LIV Golf going forward. However, the agreement has yet to be finalized and the deadline for signing it has passed on December 31st. Nevertheless, the PGA Tour and PIF are continuing to negotiate, and Schlabach said Monahan expressed optimism last month that an agreement could be reached.
“I think the priority is improvement. He’s gotten stronger. This is a direct result of dialogue and conversation and is really starting to talk about the future, the future vision of the product and the place where we can play sports.
\ “I think that when you enter into productive conversations, it increases the probability of positive results and this improves the spirit of these conversations. I think that’s what’s going to happen.
LIV Golf was founded in 2021 and began play in 2022 with financial backing from the Saudi PIF.
It was intended to be a direct competitor to the PGA Tour and has attracted several notable golfers from the tour, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson. It was assumed that the alliance between Liv and PGA Tour had prevented any additional case when golf players jumped on the ship, but Liv inflicted another serious blow to the PGA Tor, after reaching the agreement, signing a Double Major John Rama John Major John Rama December.
Since Liv’s training, PGA Tour has banned LIV golphs to participate in competitions at the PGA Tour, although they have been authorized to participate in the mayor, if he has the right. 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 ask to return.
Negotiations have not appeared to progress in recent months, but Monahan’s recent expression of desire and golf icon Woods’ involvement could get things moving in the right direction again.
