Tiger isn’t revealing much about his future in golf or a possible PGA-Saudis deal

Tiger Woods was unable to offer a major timeline Tuesday for PGA Tour negotiations with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers or his own future as a player.

Woods is the tournament host for the Hero World Challenge this week, and that is his only role at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. He has played the holiday tournament just once since 2019, missing this year while recovering from a sixth lower back surgery.

“I’m not fit to play in a tournament yet, no. I’m still not there,” Woods said. “These are 20 of the best players in the world and I’m not smart enough to compete against them at this level. So if I’m ready to compete and play at that level, then I will.”

He spends a large portion of his time dealing with PGA Tour business matters. Woods was appointed to the PGA Tour board of directors without term limits a year ago and is also a board member of the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises.

There has been movement in negotiations for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to become a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises – the tour already has a $1.5 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group and a player ownership program. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan played in the Dunhill Links Championship on the European Tour with PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

Monahan also played golf with President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he could fix golf’s mess in about 15 minutes.

“I think all of us involved in this process would have thought it would have been quicker,” Woods said.

He suggested that any deal would still have required Justice Department approval.

“But things are very fluid, we’re still working on it, it’s happening daily,” Woods said. “From a political committee standpoint or from a corporate standpoint, things are moving and they are constructive.”

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported last week that the European Tour was in separate discussions with PIF, which led to proposals for a joint schedule in which players from the European Tour and LIV could play golf at each course.

“We all want to get over this and do what’s best for the Tour, and in trying to do that, there’s going to be…some balls that get knocked over and it’s going to be a little difficult at times,” Woods said. “But in the end we will get a product that is better for all fans and all players involved, and we will get some peace of mind that the game desperately needs.”

Woods wasn’t sure about his own future. He wasn’t asked if he planned to play with his son Charlie in the PNC Championship in two weeks. It’s a 36-hole event hosted by the PGA Tour Champions, so Woods was able to ride in a kart. He has played it each of the last four years.

For him, 2024 was a lost year, mainly because of his bad back, which began to cramp over the course of the year.

Woods had set a goal of playing in a major tournament once a month during the majors season, but that fell through early on when he missed the Players Championship in March. He set a Masters record with his 24th consecutive cut, but then only played in the next three majors, missing each weekend.

He had a microdiscectomy in September to relieve pain in his legs, but he had no idea how often he would be able to play in 2025.