Adam Scott Details PGA Tour Meeting With Trump, Says President Can Be 'Helpful' To Get Merger Across The Line
The PGA Tour released a statement last week thanking President Donald Trump for meeting with representatives regarding the ongoing merger discussions involving the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sole finder of LIV Golf, and the Tour. Former Masters champion Adam Scott attended the meeting, which we've since learned was held at the White House, and the Aussie has shared new details about what exactly took place.
Scott, also a Players Director for the Tour, told Golf Channel that the meeting in the Oval Office lasted around 40 minutes and that it was a positive conversation overall. He also cited the Department of Justice, the tallest hurdle in the long drawn-out negotiations between the Tour and the Saudis.
"It’s just a positive thing that the President of the United States is such a lover of the game of golf and understands some of the challenges facing the professional game at the moment," Scott said on Tuesday ahead of this week's Genesis Invitational. "Given how things are sitting with the Department of Justice among the professional game, this is all crazy stuff, he’s a lover of the game and hopefully will be very helpful for the professional game and help everybody move forward."
"The President is passionate about [golf], he owns several golf properties, fabulous destinations around the world. He has a relationship with Saudi Arabia and the Public Investment Fund. I genuinely think he’s a fan of the PGA Tour, as well, and he’s certainly a fan of Tiger Woods, most people are," said Scott, who is a player director along with Woods on the PGA Tour Enterprises board of directors. "Given this [a potential definitive agreement between the Tour and PIF] has been tied up he can be very helpful."
Donald Trump may speed things along in the merger discussions between the PGA Tour, Saudi PIF, and ultimately, LIV Golf. Ethan Miller/Getty Images and Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and Ben Hsu/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Scott didn't offer up any sort of timeframe for when the men's professional game could potentially come back together with the framework agreement actually going into affect, but did stress its importance.
"The difficult thing for maybe the administrations to understand [is] why professional golf coming back together, working more harmoniously, let’s say, is not a breech of antitrust or anticompetitive issues. That’s what’s really been looked at," Scott said. "Hopefully this can be helped by the president and things can move forward at a faster pace."
In November 2024, days before he ultimately won the Presidential Election, Trump claimed that he could get a deal done between the Tour and the Saudi PIF, the sole funder of LIV Golf to which the President is closely tied to, in "the better part of 15 minutes."