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Donald Trump’s involvement in professional golf’s peace talks has ramped up further, with Tiger Woods among those afforded an audience with the US president at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
Woods joined the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, fellow board member Adam Scott and representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a meeting hosted by Trump amid increasing hopes the fractured sport can unite over the coming months. Key sticking points were expected to surround the precise role for Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s governor, in golf’s new world and where the Saudi-established LIV Tour sits on the sport’s schedule.
Trump introduced Woods at the White House after the meeting in a reception marking Black History Month, saying they had “interesting discussions” about the future of the game.
LIV’s formation in 2022 created divisions in elite golf that are yet to heal. Players such as Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau swapped the PGA Tour for LIV with no apparent hope of return. If Trump can accelerate a deal – and he believes he can – a pathway would be established for those golfers to play in PGA Tour events once again.
Equally intriguing is where the PGA Tour, LIV and the DP World Tour all sit in what ideally would be a global golf schedule. The PGA Tour declined to comment on the White House meeting when approached by the Guardian on Thursday.
Trump holds a significant role not only because of his love for golf but because of influence he can exert on the US Department of Justice, which under Joe Biden’s presidency was seen as a potential stumbling block to the PGA Tour and Saudis forming an alliance.
In practical terms the PIF will seek to invest in PGA Tour Enterprises, a body created in June 2023 when a framework agreement for peace in golf was surprisingly announced. Broader matters of intrigue involve potential increased involvement by Saudi Arabia in US sports franchises.
Scott and Monahan also attended the White House in early February. Woods spoke more positively than ever on Sunday about golf’s future. “Things are going to heal quickly,” Woods said. “We’re going to get this game going in the right direction.” Rory McIlroy had earlier revealed he played golf with Trump in early January.
