PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday regarding the league’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf.
It’s unclear what came of that meeting, but negotiations between the two leagues have been ongoing for more than a year, seemingly without much progress. Monahan and Scott, along with Tiger Woods, released a joint statement Thursday confirming the meeting, though it’s unknown if Woods was with Monahan and Scott in Washington D.C.
“We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support of the game of golf,” Monahan, Woods and Scott said in a joint statement. “We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved. We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”
Trump, an avid golfer, has previously claimed that he could get a LIV Golf-PGA Tour deal done in “the better part of 15 minutes.” Negotiations between the two leagues have been ongoing since Monahan shocked the golf world with his merger announcement in June 2023. While things definitely seem closer now than they did initially, no deal has been finalized.
Trump’s course in Florida is set to host a LIV Golf tournament in April. He has made multiple appearances at LIV Golf events in recent years, too. Trump’s course in New Jersey was stripped of the PGA Championship in 2022 by the PGA of America, which is separate from the PGA Tour, after the January 6 Capitol attack.
Whether Trump’s involvement in the negotiations is enough to lead the two sides to strike a deal is anyone’s guess. Although he wasn’t part of the meeting, Justin Thomas — who is on the 2025 Player Advisory Council — said Wednesday at the WM Phoenix Open that he is at least hopeful things are going in the right direction.
“I think so,” Thomas responded when asked if it seems like a good sign. “I hope so. Yeah, I hope it does.”