By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump met on Thursday with golfing legend Tiger Woods as part of efforts to resolve a schism in professional golf between the PGA Tour and upstart LIV Golf, a person briefed on the talks said.
The person had no further details on the private White House meeting, the second held on the topic this month.
Trump, an avid golfer who owns a string of golf resorts, has become more deeply involved in trying to end the years-long divide in professional golf.
The PGA Tour said on February 6 that after a meeting with Trump it was closer to reaching a deal with the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi backers of LIV Golf.
The U.S.-based circuit had said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Player Director Adam Scott met with Trump on February 4 and asked him to get involved in their talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Woods has been working with Scott and Monahan on the issue but missed the initial meeting because his mother had died recently.
“I think that things are going to heal quickly,” Woods said on Sunday during the CBS broadcast of the Genesis Invitational tournament at Torrey Pines, California.
LIV Golf attracted some of the world’s top golfers after it was founded in 2021. The best players from both LIV and the PGA Tour play one another only several times a year.
Trump played golf with Woods on February 9 at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump awarded Woods the presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Deepa Babington)
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