TROON, Scotland — Tiger Woods provided a glimmer of hope that the world’s best golfers could see each other more than just four times a year.
The 15-time major champion spoke ahead of the Open Championship at Royal Troon and said he is happy with the direction of negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund that bankrolls LIV Golf.
“I can tell you we’re making progress,” Woods said. “I can’t tell you more than that just because we’re not going to negotiate on the outside.
“We’ve got to keep everything at a high level and private, but things are moving and things are changing. It’s evolving each and every day. There’s e-mails and chains and texts and ideas that we bounce back and forth from both sides.”
The two side are playing things close to the vest after last summer’s disastrous rollout of a “framework agreement” at the RBC Canadian Open. That startling June 6 announcement blindsided players and brought forth a resentment that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is still fighting to put behind him.
“There’s a good interchange of ideas and thoughts of how the game could look like going forward,” Woods said. “It’s just a matter of putting that all together legally. Obviously we have the (U.S. Department of Justice) with oversight looking into that as well and making sure that we don’t do anything improperly there.”
Besides the legal side, there is also the issue of money, which is where the entire mess began. With the tour switching from a non-profit to a for-profit model that gives players equity as well as welcoming investors, the money side of golf is more important than ever.
“Making sure that all the players benefit from this, as well as everyone who’s involved. They want to make money as well. They want to make that return,” Woods said.