On the eve of a historic meeting between PGA Tour player executives and the governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), Rory McIlroy has said Greg Norman and LIV Golf officials are doing Yasir al-Rumayyan a “disservice” proven. .
Tiger Woods is expected to attend Monday’s meeting where PGA Tour player-directors will get an audience with Rumayyan for the first time. The outcome could have a significant impact on Woods’ approach to the Ryder Cup captaincy. The PGA of America are keen to secure their captaincy for the meeting with Europe at Bethpage in September 2025 ahead of next month’s Masters.
The widespread view is that the role of the United States is that of Woods, if he wants it, but the 15-time major winner has so far been non-committal. It was always thought he had 2027 and Adare Manor in his sights, but there could even be a scenario where he captains consecutive Ryder Cups. Should Woods declare himself a non-runner for Bethpage, Stewart Cink would be the clear favorite to take control of the American team.
Much of Woods’ free time is spent on matters on the PGA Tour policy board. The PGA Tour recently struck a $1.5 billion deal with Strategic Sports Group, but the PIF, which funded LIV Golf, continues to look outward. In order to properly unify golf on a global basis, the PGA Tour and the PIF must be established. to agreement. Even then, the U.S. Department of Justice is keeping a close eye on the Gulf route. Rumayyan will take the opportunity to explain to board members how the PIF plans to work alongside the PGA Tour.
“I think it should have happened months ago, so I’m glad it’s happening,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully this will further the conversations and get us closer to a solution.
“I spent time with Yasir. I think the people who represented him in LIV did him a disservice, so Norman and those guys. I see the two entities and I actually think there is a very big divide between PIF and LIV. I think you have PIF here and LIV here doing their own thing. So the closer we can get to Yasir and PIF and hopefully complete that investment, I think that will be a very good thing.”
McIlroy added that Rumayyan “fundamentally wants to do the right thing.” Woods’ position is fascinating in this context. It is known that he has little time for Norman, the commissioner of LIV, and the rebel tour itself. Woods has also cast doubt on the PGA Tour’s need to involve Saudi Arabia following the SSG investment, meaning Rumayyan will have some convincing to do. Should Woods be convinced that a positive deal can be reached beyond the PIF, the personal belief is that he could devote more time to a Ryder Cup position.
When asked if Bethpage interested him in 2025, Woods said: “Right now there’s too much at stake with our tour to be thinking about a Ryder Cup. We need to get this deal done and we need to focus on this now. The players and everyone involved understand that this is an issue that we need to focus on.”
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Patrick Cantlay, another player director, was largely circumspect about what Monday might bring. The 50th edition of the Players Championship took place without two current major champions – Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm – as the PGA Tour maintains its position that LIV golfers should not be allowed to compete in the events. The general consensus is that such a situation is detrimental to golf. Nevertheless, many on the PGA Tour also believe that those who accepted deals for LIV should not be given an easy route back to their previous domain. “I doubt we will discuss anything substantive at the first meeting,” Cantlay said. “I don’t imagine anything substantive, it’s more of a meet and greet.”
Lost in this fight was a successful and dramatic player defense by Scottie Scheffler. The world number 1 claimed the title at 20 under par after a final round of 64, only to see a Wyndham Clark horseshoe drain from the 72nd hole. Had Clark found the bottom of the cup, he would have forced a playoff. Instead, he had to share second place with Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele. Scheffler’s latest success came despite a neck injury; he is the first back-to-back Players champion. “It’s hard enough to win one, so this is extremely special,” Scheffler said.