Tiger Woods, pictured with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, has been closely involved in pro-golf negotiations.
TOUR Ben Jared/PGA via Getty Images
On Tuesday, an X account that tracks jet flights across the US posted that various figures in the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations had flown to New York, among them 15-time major champions Tiger Woods.
The account, @radaratlas2, reported that Woods’ private jet and a plane owned by Saudi Aramco landed at Newark International Airport in New Jersey on Monday, September 9, and another PGA Tour-related plane landed at an airport there nearby in Morristown, NJ.
But what is everyone doing in the NYC area? A ESPN report shed some light on that question on Tuesday.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Woods was among a cadre of PGA Tour officials in New York to meet with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which operates LIV Golf.
Anonymous sources told ESPN that “the parties are trying to agree on a deal that would inject more than $1 billion from the PIF into PGA Tour Enterprises, the new for-profit entity launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group,” and that the meetings expected to last several days.
It is the latest episode in long-running negotiations between the two main sides in the perennial golf feud.
In June 2023, the Tour and PIF announced a Framework Agreement to end the infighting between the PGA Tour and rival LIV Golf that has fractured the game on a large scale.
But the original Dec. 31 deadline for a final deal came and went, and the PGA Tour was subsequently secured significant investment from the Strategic Sports Groupwhich can reach 3 billion dollars.
At least publicly, negotiations appeared to be at a standstill for most of the year as the Tour and LIV went their separate ways.
Then in August at the tournament championship, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said that the Tour and the PIF had been in frequent communication throughout the year and that the desire to reach an agreement had “increased” on both sides.
Golf stars to battle it out in the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf in the main event
“This is a direct result of dialogue and conversation and really starting to talk about the future, the vision of the future product and where we can take our sport,” he said. “I think when you engage in productive conversations, it increases the likelihood of positive outcomes, and it increases the spirit of those conversations.”
But also the PGA Tour released its full schedule for 2025WHEREAS LIV has announced the first four events for the next season and the conflicts are numerous.
As for the players, there are some signs of the two sides coming together. Last week it was announced that PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler would face LIV stalwarts Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. in a made-for-TV exhibition match this December in Las Vegas.
