PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Adam Scott implore Trump to help finalise PGA-LIV deal

WASHINGTON – PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Adam Scott have implored US President Donald Trump to help complete a Saudi Arabian investment deal and reunite golf’s top players in one series.

A PGA Tour statement on Feb 6 attributed to Monahan and player-directors Scott and Tiger Woods confirmed Australian Scott and Monahan went to the White House on Feb 4 seeking the assistance of Mr Trump, an avid golfer.

Talks have dragged on 14 months past an original deadline between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, to reunite the sport’s best players, many of whom bolted from the PGA to the upstart series and are banned from PGA events.

Both LIV and the PGA Tour have 2025 seasons planned, as details remain incomplete on a PIF investment deal, with US Department of Justice’s legal concerns about Saudi financing of a United States business, among the issues involved.

“We know golf fans are eagerly anticipating a resolution to negotiations with the Public Investment Fund and want to thank President Trump for his interest and long-time support of the game of golf,” said the statement from Monahan and the two players.

“We asked the President to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country and for all the countries involved.

“We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”

No details of the conversation with Mr Trump were revealed and there was no indication when any deal might actually be completed.

Trump’s Doral course is set to host a LIV Golf event from April 4-6, the week before the Masters.

At this stage, major tournaments such as the annual showdown at Augusta National are the only places where the world’s top players from LIV and the PGA can compete against one another.

On Feb 6, though, it was business as usual in Arizona, where Wyndham Clark made seven birdies without a bogey to set the pace after one round of the Phoenix Open.

The round was suspended due to darkness at 6.13pm local time. Nine players still have one or two holes to play, with the first round resuming at 8.15am on Feb 7, and the second round starting as scheduled at 9.20am.

Clark’s seven-under 64 at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course was one better than the 65 posted by both Taylor Moore and Lee Hodges. Six players, including Justin Thomas, are in the mix after opening at 66.

Clark, the 2023 US Open champion, made four straight birdies beginning at No. 8 to get his week rolling. The first two came from 16 and 14 feet out, and his fourth of that stretch was a simple four-footer after a picture-perfect approach.

“I haven’t played my best golf the last few weeks, so it’s nice to kind of have a clean round where we did a lot of good things,” said Clark, who missed the cut at The American Express in January before tying for 73rd at the Pebble Beach Pro Am.

“I was really patient and kind of eased my way into the round.”

While Clark’s most recent win on tour came at Pebble Beach in 2024, Thomas is still on the hunt for his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship.

He started his round on the back nine and brushed off an early bogey by making three birdies on each nine.

He said: “I felt like I got it around well and put it in good spots and took advantage of some birdie chances that I had.

“I feel like staying patient is important out here because you can make a lot of birdies, but if you maybe get a little aggressive or take on some unnecessary risks, you can make bogeys pretty fast.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, in his second start of the season, had a wild back nine that featured two eagles and a double bogey along with two birdies.

Combined with a two-over 37 on his front nine, he settled in at 69, tied for 27th.

Other notable results include Canada’s Corey Conners and South Korea’s Tom Kim at four under (tied for 10th), Jordan Spieth at three under (tied for 16th) and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan at one under (tied for 44th). AFP, REUTERS