PGA Tour, LIV Golf & Donald Trump hold ‘constructive’ White House talks on reunification

The PGA Tour has held “constructive” talks over the “reunification” of golf with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and United States president Donald Trump at the White House.

Talks have been ongoing since the PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreed a shock merger with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund [PIF], which funds LIV Golf, in June 2023.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott, who met with Trump earlier this month, were joined by Al-Rumayyan and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods at the meeting in Washington DC on Thursday.

“We have just concluded a constructive working session at the White House with President Trump and his excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan,” a statement from Monahan, Scott and fellow PGA player director Woods read.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we have initiated a discussion about the reunification of golf. We are committed to moving as quickly as possible and will share additional details as appropriate.

“We share a passion for the game and the importance of reunification. Most importantly, we all want the best players in the world playing together more often and are committed to doing all we can to deliver that outcome for our fans.”

Woods said at last week’s Genesis Invitational that he expected the split in the men’s game would “heal quickly” with the involvement of Trump, whose golf resorts have hosted LIV events.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy said earlier in February that he believed Trump was “on the PGA Tour’s side” in its ongoing dispute with LIV.

Meanwhile, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley said he is optimistic that a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could be announced before the Masters in April.

The lucrative LIV Golf circuit was launched in 2022 and fractured men’s professional golf by signing high-profile players including Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka.

The surprise announcement in June 2023 that a merger to combine the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s commercial operations and rights had been agreed brought a halt to pending litigation between the tours.

An initial deadline of 31 December 2023 to conclude negotiations was missed, but an extension was agreed.

LIV Golf is backed by the PIF, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince which is also the majority owner of Premier League football club Newcastle United.