PGA Tour Commissioner, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott visit President Donald Trump at the White House
Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Jay Monahan, the current PGA Tour commissioner, took a trip to the White House to visit President Donald Trump. Both Scott and Woods are heavily involved with the policy-making for the Tour. They set out to get some progress done on the pending PIF x PGA merger.
The three of them released a joint statement that read:
"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. 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 to closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men's professional golf."
Several players, including Rory McIlroy, expressed hope that the election of Trump back in November would lead to some resolution on the merger. The merger was agreed to in the summer of 2023, and there previously seemed to be no end in sight to the negotiations.
Rory McIlroy opens up on PGA Tour merger
Rory McIlroy believed that President Trump could spur the merger to completion. It has yet to transpire that way, but there is hope among the PGA Tour that he can still play a significant role.
Two players and the commissioner went straight to the White House to find out if he could. Trump has also said in the past that he could get the deal done quickly if he were negotiating.
McIlroy spoke again last week at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am about the merger, expressing his desire to see it come to a close soon. He said via NBC Sports:
“I would like to think that something happens pretty soon, but I’ve said that for the last two years.”
The Irishman is a member of the transaction sub-committee that is in direct communication with the Saudis during this process. He also said last week that he believed the Trump administration would be a little more “deal-friendly” than the Biden administration he replaced in mid-January.