Reuters
Golfer Tiger Woods is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by U.S. President Donald Trump.[Source: Reuters]
Tiger Woods said that talks toward a deal that would resolve the fissure in golf between the U.S.-based PGA Tour and Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf are moving in the right direction.
Woods added that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Player Director Adam Scott had a productive meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this month, where they asked him to get involved in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
LIV Golf, which features no-cut, 54-hole events, held its inaugural event in June 2022, and through mega-money contracts and lucrative purses has since lured a number of golf’s biggest names, including major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
After a year of acrimony, the PGA Tour, PIF and Europe-based DP World Tour announced a framework agreement in June 2023 to house their commercial operations in a new entity and set Dec. 31 of that year as a deadline to reach a definitive agreement.
That announcement brought an end to legal battles between the parties but raised concerns in Washington from lawmakers who are mistrustful of Saudi Arabia and critical of the country’s human rights record.
The sides extended the deadline and as talks with the PIF dragged on, outside investor interest in the PGA Tour heated up by way of Strategic Sports Group, an investment group headlined by Fenway Sports Group.
LIV Golf has played at courses owned by Trump since its inception and will do so again in 2025 with its April 4-6 event scheduled to be held at Trump National Doral in Miami.
