Last week Tiger Woods attended the PGA Tour-PIF meeting in New York. Following the meeting, both parties are reportedly inching closer to finalizing the deal. However, the deal could still break due to financial differences.
On Tuesday, September 17, Bloomberg reported that while there was a ray of hope for the deal between the PGA Tour and PIF following their meeting in New York, one thing that was still holding it back was money that players like Jon Rahm got for the LIV deal.
“Some PGA Tour players want Rahm – and others to hand back money they’ve made from LIV, the people said,” sources told Bloomberg. “Other options include paying fines to participate in events, giving to charity, or agreeing to forfeit any future career winnings on the PGA Tour, the people said.”
However, Rahm and other players have declined the proposal that would penalize them for leaving the PGA Tour at their own risk.
Notably, both rival circuits came together in June 2023 to announce their merger under a new entity named PGA Tour Enterprises. The deadline for finalizing the framework agreement was initially set for December 31 last year, then pushed to April this year. However, the deal has yet to come to fruition.
Besides Tiger Woods, the PGA Tour player directors include Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, Peter Malnati, and Webb Simpson. While Scott, Woods, and McIlroy are part of the PGA Tour subtransaction committee to engage in direct negotiation with PIF.
Is Tiger Woods competing at the Sanderson Farms Championship?
The PGA Tour will now head to Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, which will take place from October 3 to 6 at Country Club of Jackson. However, Tiger Woods will continue to remain out of action this season.
Woods had announced earlier that his season would end with the Open Championship, and since then he hasn’t played any official event. Last week he underwent back surgery after suffering from back issues recently.
The 15-time Major champion made the cut in only one of five starts this season. He set a record with his 24th straight cut at the Masters Tournament earlier this year. However, he failed to make it to the weekend in the other three Majors.
For those uninitiated, Woods has been winless since the 2020 Zozo Championship, which marked his 82nd win on the PGA Tour, tying him with Sam Snead as the joint-winningest player on the Tour.
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Edited by Shobhit Kukreti
