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LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods is all for an agreement between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
But those negotiations continue behind the scenes, and Woods recognizes that a deal is less necessary than it once was.
Woods, who spoke Wednesday afternoon ahead of his return to action at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, is in the midst of both ongoing negotiations with PIF and a new $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group. , was asked repeatedly about the status of the tour. While the PIF deal would theoretically reunite the golf world, Woods noted that the tour has already received the funding it needs in the short term.
“Ultimately, we want PIF to be part of our tour and part of our product,” Woods said at Riviera Country Club. “Financially, we are not at the moment. The money they brought to the table and the amount we originally agreed to in the framework agreement are all the same numbers. Anything beyond this Obviously it will be exceeded. We are in that position now. [where] We hope that we can improve the product in the short and long term. ”
Woods’ comments Wednesday echoed those made by fellow board member Jordan Spieth at Pebble Beach last month. Spieth said he believes there is no longer a need for an agreement with PIF, but that “it would be a positive thing for golf to be unified.”
The Tour announced last month that SSG is investing up to $3 billion in the Tour, which will lead to the launch of PGA Tour Enterprises. This deal allows players to actually take a stake in the company, helping them compete directly with LIV Golf. The deal does not completely lock out PIF and LIV Golf, but allows for “co-investments” “subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.”
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to provide the best entertainment, and to do that we need the best players to play,” Woods said. “We want to know the history of the tour, engage that history and tradition, and capture all of the pathways, accessibility and intangibles that have made the PGA Tour what it is and what it has been. And hopefully it will continue to get better.
“And how do we do that? That’s the whole idea of why groups like SSG are providing us with information and support and trying to create the best tour possible.”
The merger deal between LIV Golf, PGA Tour and DP World Tour that shocked the golf world last summer is still being negotiated. Both sides said they wanted to finalize the agreement by the end of 2023, but later extended the deadline indefinitely.
“It’s an ongoing, fluid process,” Woods, a member of the tour’s player board, clarified. He declined to go into details about PIF despite repeated questions and said he had never spoken directly to anyone at the fund.
If an agreement between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is finalized, a decision must be made regarding how LIV Golf members can return to the PGA Tour if they choose to do so. While some tour golfers will gladly welcome him back with open arms, some tour golfers will be happy to welcome him back after what has been a largely chaotic withdrawal and period for the sport as a whole. Some people want some kind of penalty or penalties to be introduced.
Woods said these discussions happen daily and weekly. But at this point, it’s too early to know how best to deal with this situation.
“We’re looking at all different models for return routes,” Woods said. “We don’t have an answer to that right now, what that looks like, what impact it will have on the players who stayed and the players who didn’t leave, and how we’re going to improve the product going forward. We’re looking at very different, different levels of ideas, and we don’t know what it’s going to be in the short term. We don’t even know what it’s going to be in the long term.”
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