Donald Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia this week to sign a historic agreement with the Middle Eastern state. But he’s said to have another agenda, which pertains to golf.
Trump boasted last year that it would take him just 15 minutes to strike a deal between the PGA and LIV Golf, which would finally bring closure to a stalled merger that’s been in limbo for around two years.
More than 15 minutes have passed since then, but it’s been reported that the President will use his time in Saudi Arabia to deliver an ultimatum on behalf of the Tour.
According to Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch, President Trump will pass on the message that any merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will be on the Tour’s terms.
🚨🇺🇸👀 #NEW: @golfweek is reporting that during meetings this week in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump is expected to tell the Saudi government that a deal between the PGA TOUR & LIV will be on the TOUR’s terms, and will not involve a long term future for LIV. Tiger Woods… pic.twitter.com/Ldt9MgORxX
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 13, 2025
“The president is going to Saudi Arabia to tell its autocratic leader, Mohammed bin Salman, that any deal between the Tour and the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund will be on the Tour’s preferred terms, and those terms will not include a long-term future for LIV,” Lynch wrote.
Tiger Woods Was On An Important Donald Trump Mission At The White House Last Week
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Lynch also claimed that Tiger Woods’ visit to the White House last week was to ensure that the President would make this clear to the Middle Eastern leader.
“Tiger Woods, a director on the Tour’s policy board—and around whom Trump is reduced to a fawning fan boy—was dispatched to the White House late last week to ensure the president would be on message in Riyadh,” he noted.
The Tour has a marked advantage here. It’s overshadowed LIV as far as TV ratings go and, while it would profit from having some of the big names return, still has all the leverage.
Of course, Trump has benefited directly from the Saudi-backed league, having hosted tournaments at his clubs, so there is some concern over whether he will deliver the Tour’s message, at least as vehemently as Woods would like.
