Jay Monahan, Adam Scott met with President Trump to discuss PGA Tour-PIF deal

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and player director Adam Scott met earlier this week with President Donald Trump as the Tour tries to reach a final agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund that would help reunify the sport.

The PGA Tour, in a statement released Thursday, confirmed the meeting in which it said it asked Trump 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,” the Tour said in a statement, which was made by Monahan, Scott and fellow player director Tiger Woods.

There were no further details on what was discussed or a possible timeline.

An avid golf fan whose Doral resort will host a LIV event later this spring, Trump has been eager to see the two warring sides work out a pact that could see the best players in the world competing again more often. He had previously boasted that he could get a deal done in about 15 minutes.

One of the obstacles between the Tour and Saudis has been the involvement of the Department of Justice, which was already looking into the Tour for potential anti-competitive behavior. Rory McIlroy, a member of the transaction subcommittee that is dealing directly with the Saudis, said last week that he viewed Trump and his administration as more “deal-friendly” than the previous administration.

“I would like to think that something happens pretty soon,” McIlroy said last week at Pebble Beach, “but I’ve said that for the last two years.”

Last year, the Tour reached an agreement with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of pro sports team owners, to inject up to $3 billion in the Tour’s new for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises.