Tiger Woods took part in what he called a “productive” meeting last Friday, based in New York City, that included PGA Tour officials, player representatives and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of LIV Golf's backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.

“It was productive,” Tiger said at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. “And is there light at the end of tunnel? I think we're closer to that point than we were pre-meeting. We discussed a lot of different endings and how we get there. I think that both sides walked away from the meeting, we all felt very positive in that meeting.

“As I said, both sides were looking at different ways to get to the end game. I think that both sides shared a deep passion for how we need to get there. And yes, there are going to be differences of opinion, but we all want the same thing.”

June 6th marked the one-year anniversary of Rumayyan and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan shocking the world with a stunning — and ultimately fruitless — announcement of a framework agreement to unite the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf. In the moment, Rumayyan laughably predicted a finalized deal would be hashed out in “a matter of weeks.”

Last month, McIlroy's attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board, specifically to help negotiate with the Saudis, was thwarted. McIlroy hinted that certain player directors were less inclined to work with PIF. Tiger, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, and Peter Malnati are PGA Tour players on the policy board.

Instead, a Transaction Subcommittee — including Tiger, Monahan, McIlroy, Scott, player liaison Joe Ogilvie, and PGA Tour investor/Boston Red Sox owner John Henry — was created to work with the Saudis.

“There’s going to be people in that room on the PGA Tour side who are going to take the lead. And it’s not going to be Adam, Tiger or I,” Rory said last week about the New York meeting.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Si Woo Kim hits his second shot on the tenth hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow.
Si Woo Kim’s electric reaction after hole-in-one at PGA Championship
Jhonattan Vegas on the fifth hole green during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow.
Jhonattan Vegas rides lucky rake into PGA Championship weekend
Bryson DeChambeau walks up to the fifth green during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow.
Bryson DeChambeau Catches ‘Weird Breaks’ at PGA Championship

“This is a negotiation about an investment in the PGA Tour Enterprises, this is big boy stuff. And I’ll certainly be doing more listening than I will be doing talking.”

“I certainly don’t see in the next couple of years LIV slowing down,” he added. “They’re buying office space in New York. They have over 200 employees. I haven’t heard any of those guys say that they don’t want to play over there either, right? You’ve got guys who are on contracts until 2028, 2029.

“Looking a few years down the line, LIV is going to continue to sort of keep going down its path. But hopefully with maybe more of a collaboration or an understanding between the tours. Maybe there is some cross-pollination there where players can start to play on both. I guess that will all be talked about in the coming weeks.”

In January, the PGA Tour secured up at least $1.5 billion in funding from Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of sports owners, to create PGA Tour Enterprises — a for-profit branch dedicated to growing the game. Tiger is VP.

The only known previous meeting that included both Al-Rumayyan and Tiger came in the Bahamas in March.