As well as some thrilling action on the course at The Players Championship, there was plenty of interest in events away from TPC Sawgrass, too, with Patrick Cantlay confirming after the final round that a Monday meeting had been arranged between PGA Tour Policy Board members and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
One of the player directors of the Policy Board is 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, and it appears he has now flown to the Bahamas to attend the meeting.
According to X account radaratlas2, Woods’ plane has arrived in capital Nassau along with one registered to the PIF. Meanwhile, the plane of one of the members of the Strategic Sports Group that is investing in the PGA Tour, John Henry, has now taken off for the Bahamas along with another owned by the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour airplane #N795HG outbound to Nassau! Which is where Tiger and someone from PIF/Saudi already are. Will continue monitoring. pic.twitter.com/AwqMnNCaGHMarch 18, 2024
John Henry/Fenway Sports Group also outbound Florida towards Nassau. Must be where the #PGA #LIV meeting is taking place https://t.co/Hx1kZy7Rza pic.twitter.com/DFVCV22JAeMarch 18, 2024
Per Sports Illustrated, the meeting will take place at Albany, where Woods hosts the annual Hero World Challenge.
There had been talk of the meeting for several days before player director Cantlay confirmed it had been set for Monday. After Golfweek first reported that a meeting between players and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was likely, another player director, Jordan Spieth, said on Friday: "We are being encouraged to potentially meet with them at some point, yeah."
That was followed by another player on the Policy Board, Adam Scott, urging the talks, telling AP’s Doug Ferguson: “If PIF thinks it’s beneficial that we meet... as far as getting on with business, yeah, let’s get on with it. I would like to resolve this no matter what the outcome is. And we can all move on.”
After Cantlay’s final round at The Players Championship, he told Sports Illustrated, saying: "Well, I’ve gotta hear out what they have to say, and I will always do my best to represent the entire membership whenever I am in a meeting in that capacity.”
One player no longer on the Policy Board but who remains a hugely influential figure on the PGA Tour is Rory McIlroy. After his T19 at TPC Sawgrass, he welcomed news that the meeting would be taking place. He said: “Absolutely. I think it should have happened months ago, so I am glad that it's happening. Hopefully that progresses conversations and gets us closer to a solution.”
McIlroy also stressed the importance of Woods attending, saying: “I mean, he's a player director. He's on the board, so absolutely he needs to be involved.”
The news of the meeting comes days after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said that negotiations between his organisation and the PIF were “accelerating.” He also said: “We have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf's worldwide potential.
“It's going to take time, but I reiterate what I said at the Tour Championship in August. I see a positive outcome for the PGA Tour and the sport as a whole."
