Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump met with Tiger Woods and leaders of the rival PGA and LIV golf tours on Thursday in what could be a major step toward reunifying the sport. The White House gathering included Trump, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Woods and his fellow tour policy board director Adam Scott, as well as Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the financial backers of LIV Golf.
“We had some interesting discussions,” Trump said, without revealing details of the talks. Woods, a 15-time major winner, appeared with Trump at a Black History Month reception, where a crowd chanted “Tiger, Tiger,” and Woods spoke briefly. “It’s an honor to be here with you, Mr. President, and an honor to be here with all of you,” Woods told the crowd.
Related news
The meeting comes after Woods spoke optimistically about a deal to unify world golf on Sunday. “I think things are going to heal quickly,” Woods said. “We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It has been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years, and the fans want all of us — all the top players — playing together, and we’re going to make that happen.”
LIV lured away several top names from the PGA Tour when it made its 2022 debut, and the PGA responded by banning LIV players from its events. Currently, top PGA and LIV players compete against each other only at major tournaments. A month after the first active LIV player won a major, Brooks Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship, Monahan and Al-Rumayyan unveiled a framework agreement for a PIF investment into the PGA Tour.
However, 14 months after a deadline for a final deal, which must be approved by the policy board including Woods and 2013 Masters champion Scott, the agreement remains unfinished, and the tours remain divided, with LIV hosting a Masters tuneup event at Trump’s Doral course in April. Any reunification deal would likely see the PIF invest $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit company operated by the tour, but US Justice Department officials have expressed concerns that such a move might violate US laws.
Trump could ease such roadblocks, but that would leave the pressing question of reinstating LIV players for PGA Tour events and any possible punishment. This is a matter many players who declined big-money LIV offers consider important. Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, however, has told fellow PGA Tour players to “get over it” for the good of golf. “Everyone has just got to get over it, and we all have to say OK, this is the starting point and we move forward,” McIlroy said last week.
– ‘General enthusiasm’ –
Thursday’s meeting was the second this month at the White House concerning the matter, with Monahan and Scott also visiting on February 4. “We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved,” the PGA Tour said in a statement after the first meeting. “We’re grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”
Monahan noted last week that the first Trump meeting made him more confident and enthusiastic about a good deal being concluded. “Everything is moving forward with pace,” Monahan said. “When you look at all the parties involved, there’s a general enthusiasm for getting this done. Something could have happened earlier, but it might not have been right. I feel a lot stronger and a lot more confident that ultimately we’re getting this right.”
© 2024 AFP
