PGA Tour player director and former US Open champion Webb Simpson says he hasn’t left the Crucial meeting in the Bahamas with LIV Golf Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan with a “much clearer understanding of what the future holds.”
Yet he believes it was still imperative to meet the powerful Saudi businessman and governor of the massive wealth fund that is financing the separatist tour.
Simpson declined to go into detail about the meeting with the 54-year-old LIV mastermind in Albany, which took place on March 18.
But he spoke to SI’s Bob Harig: “It was never tense. It was a long day but a good day.”
He added: “It really seems like he (Al-Rumayyan) is considering a place in golf.
“We didn’t go as far as he wanted and what does that matter LIV to want.
“He certainly seems committed enough to the game already to want to see the game grow globally, I think it’s fair to say.
“And he mentioned the culture in Saudi Arabia to try to achieve that.”
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The six PGA TourPlayer managers were present at the meeting in Albany.
Newly appointed player liaison Joe Ogilvie was also in attendance, alongside the PGA Tour boss. Jay Monahan and figures from Strategic Sports Group.
Strategic Sports Group invested an initial $1.5 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises in January and discussions include whether PIF will join the group as a minority investor.
Unsurprisingly, the most important personality present was Tiger Woods.
Woods, 48, was reportedly ‘engaged” in the negotiations and even stayed to play golf with Al-Rumayyan after the meeting ends.
His involvement is of paramount importance given his bad-eye view of LIV Golf and the headache it has caused on the Tour where he made his name.
Simpson added: “I think it will be a while before we get there. I didn’t come away with a much clearer understanding of what the future holds.
“But I definitely came away thinking I’m glad we did this. Glad I met him.
“I’m glad we had a very friendly meeting. It was never tense. It was a long day but a good day.”
A leading actor who will have been delighted with the holding of this meeting is that of Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy was the first PGA Tour player to meet Al-Rumayyan and ask the LIV supremo what he wanted to accomplish in golf.
The Northern Irishman met secretly with Al-Rumayyan in Dubai in December 2022.
McIlroy claimed that immediately after his meeting with Al-Rumayyanwhom he had previously hailed as a “very impressive man”, was that it was imperative to open negotiations.
That being said, McIlroy was still blindsided by the announcement of the June 6 framework agreement.
His expletive-laden fury was documented in the latest season of the Netflix documentary Full Swing.
McIlroy subsequently resigned from his position on the PGA Tour board of directors and was replaced by Jordan Spieth.
Despite changing his mind on LIV, McIlroy recently reopened old wounds by aiming Greg Normand.
In his opinionNorman did Al-Rumayyan a “disservice.”
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