Tiger Woods not opposed to deal between PGA Tour and Saudi-backed PIF as talks continue

2024-12-24 21:12:12 source: category:Scams

Tiger Woods says negotiations between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund are continuing and he is not opposed to a possible investment but added that the tour doesn't need their money.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is the monetary backing of LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour received good news last month, reaching a deal with Strategic Sports Group that could add up to $3 billion to the tour.  In exchange, SSG received a 25% stake in PGA Tour Enterprises.

"Ultimately, we would like to have PIF be a part of our tour and a part of our product," Woods said ahead of The Genesis at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. "Financially, we don't right now, and the monies that they have come to the table with and what we initially had agreed to in the framework agreement, those are all the same numbers.

"Anything beyond this is going to be obviously over and above. We're in a position right now (where) hopefully we can make our product better in the short term and long term."

Last June, the PGA Tour, the Public Investment Fund, and the DP World Tour signed a framework agreement to create PGA Tour Enterprises, with a Dec. 31 deadline. A deal still has not been consummated.

"At the end of the day, we're trying to provide the best entertainment, and in order to do that you have to have the best players play," said Woods, who is one of six golfers named as a player director on the PGA Tour's policy board. "We want to involve the history and the traditions of our tour, and have the pathways, accessibility, all of the intangibles that have made the PGA Tour what it is right now and what has been, and hopefully what it will continue to be even better."

Woods was also asked about former PGA players − most recently Jon Rahm − who jumped to the LIV Tour to secure a big payday, making their way back on the tour.

"We're looking into all the different models for pathways back," Woods said. "What that looks like, what the impact is for the players who have stayed and who have not left, and how we make our product better going forward, there is no answer to that right now."

More:Scams

Recommend

Certifying this year’s presidential results begins quietly, in contrast to the 2020 election

Follow AP’s coverage of the election and what happens next. ATLANTA (AP) — Local officials are be

Texas pizza delivery driver accused of fatally shooting man who tried to rob him: Reports

A Texas pizza delivery driver is accused of fatally shooting a man he claimed tried to rob him, acco

'The Simple Life': Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie may be returning to reality TV

Things may not be as simple as they used to be, but Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton may be ready to t