Golf going in 'right direction' – Woods

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump met with Tiger Woods and leaders of the rival PGA and LIV golf tours 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, and 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, a crowd chanting "Tiger, Tiger" and Woods speaking 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.

The meeting comes after Woods spoke optimistically of 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 in making its 2022 debut, the PGA responding by banning LIV players from its events. Top PGA and LIV players compete against each other now 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.

But 14 months after a deadline for a final deal, which much 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 had been concerned such a move might violate US laws.