Sources – PGA and PIF Officials Meet in New York

PGA Tour officials, including 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, are meeting with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in New York on Tuesday, sources confirmed to ESPN.

The two sides are trying to reach a deal that would pump more than $1 billion from the Public Investment Fund into PGA Tour Enterprises, the new for-profit entity launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group.

The meetings are scheduled to last for several days, sources told ESPN.

PGA Tour Enterprises Chairman Joe Gorder and Fenway Sports Group owner John W. Henry are part of a transactions subcommittee negotiating with the Saudis, along with Woods and golfer Adam Scott.

Flight tracking account RadarAtlas 2 indicated Tuesday that planes owned by Woods, Saudi Aramco and the PGA Tour arrived in the New York area on Monday.

The 9/11 Justice Group on Tuesday criticized meetings between the Professional Golfers Association and the Public Investment Fund. The group of 9/11 survivors, first responders and family members of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorists.

“Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, but here we are today, in New York City, down the street from Ground Zero, with the PGA and Tiger Woods negotiating with them,” Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice, said in a statement. “As CBS has reported in recent weeks, the Saudi government played a role in the horrific attacks of September 11th. It is disgusting, unacceptable and incredibly hurtful that the PGA and Tiger Woods would do this – especially now.”

At last month’s U.S. Tour Championship in Atlanta, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said talks with PIF were “stronger” than in the past, hinting at the possibility of a deal to reunite the divided sport.

The PGA, DP World Tour and PIF, which has funded the rival LIV golf league for the past three years, signed a framework agreement on June 6, 2023, to form an alliance.

The deadline for reaching such an agreement expired on December 31, but the two sides continued to work on the details of a possible agreement.

“I would say the priority has been strengthened, it has become stronger,” Monahan said on Aug. 28. “And that’s a direct result of the dialogue and the conversation and really starting to talk about the future and the future product vision and where we can take our sport.”

“I think that engaging in constructive talks increases the likelihood of positive outcomes, which increases the spirit of those talks themselves. And I think that is the current situation.”