Tiger Woods gives update on PGA Tour-LIV Golf talks 

Shortly after finishing his 100th round at the Masters, Tiger Woods lifted the lid for the first time on last month’s meeting with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. 

Woods finished last of the players who made the cut at Augusta National, following Saturday’s 82 with a final round 77 to finish +16, his worst 72-hole score in a major during his garlanded career.

The five-time champion is still satisfied with a “good week” after completing all four rounds in a competitive event for the first time since his Masters defence in 2020.

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But when the dust settles on this compelling first major, attention will turn back to the schism that still engulfs men’s professional golf.

The PGA Tour is still locked in negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), which bankrolls the LIV venture.

And a meeting between PIF chief Al-Rumayyan, and PGA Tour Policy Board members Woods, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson in the Bahamas represented a notable sign of the thawing in relations between the game’s warring factions.

Woods was asked about those talks during his post-round media duties.

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“I don’t know if we’re closer (to a deal), but certainly we’re headed in the right direction,” Woods said. “That was a very positive meeting, and I think both sides came away from the meeting feeling positive.”

Protracted negotiations are ongoing between the rivalling circuits to reach a definitive agreement, but the update from Woods is a further indication that a resolution to the division in the elite male game isn’t imminent.

While that uncertainty continues, the 15-time major champion has confirmed his plans to play all four majors in 2024.

“It was a good week all around,” Woods said. “I think that coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately yesterday it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to.

“This is a golf course I knew going into it, so I’m going to do my homework going forward at Pinehurst, Valhalla and Troon, but that’s kind of the game plan.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.