Tiger Woods praises Donald Trump’s influence as he predicts an end to PGA Tour and LIV’s civil war

Tiger Woods said on Sunday 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.

‘I think we’re in a very positive place right now,’ Woods said during the CBS Sports broadcast of the Genesis Open in San Diego.

‘We had a meeting with the president. Unfortunately I had some other circumstances that came up but Jay and Adam, they did great during the meeting and we have a subsequent meeting coming up,’ he said.

‘I think things are going to heal quickly. We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It has been headed in the wrong direction for a number of years.

‘The fans want all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen.’

Tiger Woods has hailed Donald Trump’s influence on talks between the PGA Tour and LIV

Woods appeared at the Genesis Invitational on Sunday alongside Trump’s granddaughter, Kai

Woods made his first public appearance at the Genesis Invitational on Sunday after the death of his mother, arriving with Trump’s granddaughter Kai.

And last Sunday, Woods played golf with the President before he flew to New Orleans to watch the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. 

Woods and Trump’s connection goes back many years – Trump awarded Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, the highest civilian honor in the United States. 

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.

Trump pictured with Woods in 2013 after he won the Cadillac Championship in Florida

Woods underlined his belief that golf will ‘heal quickly’ once the PGA and LIV reunite 

LIV CEO Scott O’Neill has welcomed Trump’s involvement too, saying earlier in February: ‘If the leader of the free world is spending his time on golf, I am very happy.

‘This game matters. It gives values that this world needs more of right now. It brings us together with connectivity.’ 

Rory McIlroy, arguably LIV’s biggest critic since the emergence of the Saudi-backed tour, said he played golf with Trump a few weeks ago and that the President is on the PGA’s side.

‘I learnt that he’s not a fan of the LIV format,’ McIlroy said, adding that he questioned Trump hosting LIV events.

‘He was like, ‘yeah, but it doesn’t mean that I like it’, so I think he’s on the PGA Tour’s side. 

‘He (Trump) can be influential. I saw it when I was playing with Sheikh Hamdan of Abu Dhabi the day Trump got elected in November. I don’t think people appreciate how much respect he has (in the Middle East). 

‘Whenever he says something, they listen and I think that’s a big thing.’ 

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