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Tiger Woods is back in action this week at the PGA Tour‘s Genesis Invitational.
But before he could even step on the tee box for the opening round of the tournament, Woods was making headlines.
When asked about Saudi Arabia’s impending investment in the PGA Tour via its Public Investment Fund, Woods had plenty to say.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad; it’s an ongoing, fluid process,” he said of the reported investment.
He then noted that he hopes the investment goes through, but that the PGA Tour is not in a position of need.
“Ultimately, we would like to have PIF be a part of our tour and a part of our product,” Woods said. “Financially, we don’t right now, and the monies that they have come to the table with and what we initially had agreed to in the framework agreement, those are all the same numbers. Anything beyond this is going to be obviously over and above. We’re in a position right now, hopefully we can make our product better in the short term and long term.”
Tiger Woods Echoes Jordan Spieth On Saudi PGA Tour Investment
Woods is not the first big-name PGA Tour star to share this belief. Jordan Spieth gave a similar answer weeks ago ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“I don’t think that it’s needed,” Spieth said of a deal with the PIF. “The positive would be a unification, but…I just think it’s something that is almost not even worth talking about right this second given how timely everything would be to try to get it figured out. But the idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else with the option of other investors.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia continues to operate LIV Golf as an entirely separate entity. Reigning Masters champ Jon Rahm made his LIV debut last week, finishing in eighth and getting into a disagreement with some unruly fans.