He didn’t say anything like why should I help you? You canceled my PGA Tour event at Doral. Why should I get involved? He jumped right in. At least, it sounds like that from what PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said this week at the Genesis Invitational.
“For him to respond to our request to sit down and talk about how we achieve what he stated publicly as a goal, which is the game of golf operating under one tour with all the top players playing on that one tour, was a great opportunity. We had a really productive conversation,” Monahan said.
According to Monahan, the goal is reunification of the game.
“Candidly, that’s what fans want,” Monahan added.
One benefit of having President Trump involved is that he knows all the parties, and he knows the sport. His courses, Trump National Bedminster ( New Jersey), Trump National Washington, DC, and Trump National Doral ( Florida), have all hosted LIV golf events. One has hosted PGA Tour events. And he knows and loves golf.
His course, Trump National Doral was the site for the PGA Tour Cadillac World Golf Championship event until the PGA Tour pulled the plug in June of 2016, which was right in the heart of the election campaign. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a press conference that the decision was unrelated to Trump’s politics and called it “fundamentally a sponsorship issue,” according to the Miami Herald. GM had pulled out of a variety of golf sponsorships, and Doral was the last one remaining. Before that, Doral had hosted a PGA Tour event for 45 years, since the 1960s.
After the announcement, the Trump organization sued the Tour, and the two parties later settled the matter saying some nice things about each other.
The Trump National Bedminster property was also slated to hold the PGA Championship until politics got in the way in 2016/ 2017 and the PGA of America pulled the plug. The PGA of America said hosting at Bedminster was “detrimental to the PGA of America brand.”
However, it is clear that Trump enjoys golf, personally, as well as for business and social purposes. Trump's affection for the game seems to have convinced Monahan of his sincerity.
“You look at his passion for the game, his knowledge and understanding of the game, he's very -- he's very familiar with the PGA TOUR, he's very familiar with the team at the Public Investment Fund,” Monahan said. “Like us, he has a very clear picture of what should happen, and he wants to help. The game means that much to him. And he's the ultimate dealmaker, so having him in the mix is a great thing for the game.”
The meeting was held 10 days ago, and afterward, the PGA Tour released a statement that said:
Commissioner Jay Monahan and Player Director Adam Scott met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
“We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support of the game of golf. We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved. We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”
– Statement from Commissioner Jay Monahan, Player Director Tiger Woods and Player Director Adam Scott
Tiger Woods was not at the meeting as it was the same day that his mother died. However, he had just played golf with Trump the previous week.
On May 6, 2019, President Trump awarded Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, so they were certainly acquainted.
Monahan was asked about the funding that the PGA Tour had received from Strategic Sports Group ( SSG) and about the progress they have made to date.
“We're currently in discussions with some opportunities where we will deploy capital,” he said. “I'm not in position to share any of those details.”
The Tour has put together an investment committee that includes representatives from SSG as well as from the PGA Tour.
“We're actively looking at deals that are going to make the PGA TOUR stronger and deals that are complementary to our business.,” Monahan said.
He anticipated there would be news on that topic in the coming months.
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