Report: Tiger Woods, PGA Tour Officials Meeting With Saudi PIF in New York

Officials from the PGA Tour are meeting with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in New York this week as talks continue around unifying the pro game.

ESPN reported that the meetings, beginning Tuesday, are scheduled to last multiple days. (Note: An earlier version of this story cited ESPN’s report that Tiger Woods would attend the meeting. Sports Illustrated later learned that Woods would not attend in person, per a source.)

The PIF is the funding source of LIV Golf, which is finishing its third season this month with tournaments outside Chicago and Dallas. The PIF is reportedly willing to invest $1 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, the for-profit entity formed after the Tour received a multi-billion-dollar investment from Strategic Sports Group. 

There is a PGA Tour Policy Board “transaction subcommittee” specifically tasked with negotiating a deal with the PIF, which includes Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. Also on that subcommittee are John Henry of Strategic Sports Group and Joe Gorder of Valero Energy, who is also part of the Tour’s Policy Board. 

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is also part of the group. Last month in a press conference prior to the start of the season-ending Tour Championship, Monahan said both sides were “at the table” but that negotiations would take time and there was no deadline for a deal. 

“What we hear from fans and what we’re hearing from players, ultimately we’re both in a position to bring the best players in the world back together. I think that’s a good and aspirational goal,” Monahan said in Atlanta. 

The PGA Tour, PIF and DP World Tour signed a “framework agreement” on June 6, 2023, with a deadline of Dec. 31 of that year to complete a deal. That date passed without one. 

Stars from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will play against each other in December in a made-for-TV match, with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler taking on Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in Las Vegas. McIlroy confirmed details of the event to Golfweek, leading to speculation that the event was created by the players and not necessarily their respective leagues.