Tiger Woods joins CBS booth to talk looming PIF deal, move to Torrey Pines and loss of mother

SAN DIEGO – Although Tiger Woods didn’t attend last week’s meeting between U.S President Donald Trump and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, the circuit’s chief executive said the 15-time major champion was “with us in spirit” following the death of Woods’ mother, Kultida.

Monahan also said there are “not yet plans” to meet with the president again to help facilitate a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf, but he did add, “I suspect there will be a future meeting.”

On Sunday during the CBS telecast of the final round of the Genesis Invitational, Woods suggested Trump’s involvement would be crucial to a deal between the Tour and PIF, and that “a subsequent meeting” was imminent.

“I think we’re in a very positive place right now. We had a meeting with the president. Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay and Adam [Scott], they did great during the meeting, and we have another subsequent meeting coming up,” Woods said. “I think that things are going to heal quickly.”

Woods was scheduled to attend last week’s meeting at the White House but was needed in South Florida when his mother became ill. Neither Woods nor Monahan revealed exactly what they hope Trump can do to speed up the negotiations with PIF, but one obvious avenue is to expediate the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into any possible antitrust violations the deal might create.

“We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years and the fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen,” Woods said.

Woods also confirmed Sunday in the interview with Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman that the decision to relocate the Genesis Invitational to Torrey Pines, specifically, in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, was driven largely by the golf course.

“I wanted to keep the event at an iconic venue. Riviera’s iconic. It was iconic to me when I first played there, it was the first tournament on the PGA Tour I ever played. And I think this golf course is iconic,” said Woods, an eight-time winner at Torrey Pines as a professional, including the 2008 U.S. Open. “I think the whole community, how they’ve all joined in. This has been a community effort, all of San Diego has come together to make this happen.”

Woods explained that once the decision was made to move the event out of the Los Angeles area, which was devastated by wildfires last month, there were no shortage of options – including Palm Springs, Las Vegas and even Phoenix.

Woods had planned to play the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts and which benefits his foundation, until his mother died Feb. 4 at age 80. He withdrew from the event Monday, saying on social media he was, “just not ready.”

“Mom was my rock, you know?” Woods said Sunday. “When my dad worked at McDonnell Douglas at that time and was working on the Delta rocket and mom would take me to every junior event here in Southern California, whether it’s nine holes out in Riverside, San Bernadino, she would drive out there and keep score, walk every hole and how many putts I hit, how many fairways I hit, how many greens I hit.”

Woods hasn’t played an official PGA Tour event since last year’s Open Championship, where he missed the cut, and he was predictably noncommittal when asked by Nantz his upcoming schedule.

“My goal is to play more, I haven’t played. I need to work on that. I’ll get back after it and look forward to playing some big events,” Woods said.

Woods’ next likely start will be the Masters although there is some speculation he could add an event, either the Arnold Palmer Invitational or The Players Championship, if his health allows. He hasn’t played either event in five years.

Woods, who underwent his fifth microdisectomy procedure on his back last September, is scheduled to play Tuesday’s TGL match between his Jupiter Links team and New York Golf Club in South Florida.