Tiger: 'Right direction' toward healing rift
Woods, Monahan express optimism that deal is imminent; Åberg closes best win
The once and new kings of Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods and Ludvig Åberg (Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Days after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan struck his most optimistic tone about the potential for a deal to be finalized with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Tiger Woods on Sunday suggested that a long-waited resolution to golf’s hostilities is close to a resolution.
For months, as negotiations languished between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf’s financial benefactor, the PIF. Myriad views on what might happen have been put forth, but with little in the way of substance.
But something is clearly happening. Monahan and player representative Adam Scott met with President Trump on Feb. 4 to help clear any potential hurdles from the Department of Justice. The negotiations seem to be down to ironing out the details.
“We’re in a very positive place right now,” Woods said in a live booth appearance with with Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman on the CBS broadcast Sunday at Torrey Pines. “We had a meeting with the president. Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay and Adam, they did great during the meeting, and we have another subsequent meeting coming up.
“I think that things are going to heal quickly. We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. It’s been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years and the fans want all of us to play together, all the top players playing together and we’re going to make that happen.”
Woods had originally planned to play the Genesis Invitational, which was moved from Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles due to the recent wildfires. He withdrew on Monday saying he was not prepared to compete so soon after the death of his mother.
The 15-time major champion had been scheduled to join Monahan and Scott for a meeting with Trump before his mother, Kultida, passed away.
Woods and Monahan have typically been tight-lipped or offered little in the way of meaningful information as it related to the on-going negotiations with the PIF.
The framework agreement was announced on June 6, 2023, and the complicated talks having seemingly floundered at times while the PGA Tour and DP World Tour continue on separately from LIV Golf, which just staged its biggest event in Australia, where Joaquin Niemann won on Sunday.
That is why Woods’ words and those of Monahan earlier seemingly suggest something is close to being announced.
“What it means is the reunification of the game, which is what we have been and are focused on,” Monahan said Wednesday. “Candidly, that’s what fans want. So when you talk about reunification, that’s all the best players in the world competing with each other and against each other.”
Ludvig Åberg slams doors in his biggest victory … yet (Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Åberg claims signature breakout at Torrey
With a sweet and powerful swing and stoicism that projects calmness beyond his years, Ludvig Åberg already projects an aura of pending greatness.
But the 25-year-old Swede by way of Texas Tech was getting a bit antsy with his career trajectory. A fast start to his pro career in the fall of 2023 with a DP World Tour win, Ryder Cup appearance and PGA Tour victory in the RSM Classic was followed by some prominent near misses in 2024 and seemingly an inability to close out tournaments.
“It felt like a lifetime,’’ Åberg said of the 15 months between victories after he fired a final-round 66 on Sunday ay Torrey Pines to win the relocated Genesis Invitational by a stroke over Maverick McNealy. Åberg birdied four of the last six holes to collect a $4 million signature win check.
“It is hard winning on the PGA Tour, they’re the best players in the world,” he said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to win it’s a cool feeling to try to win a golf tournament coming down the last couple holes.
“Today I executed the shots, I made a couple putts and that was the difference. It’s very reassuring to know that I can sort of go from where I was a couple weeks ago to winning a tournament in sort of a quick turnaround.”
Three weeks ago, Åberg left Torrey Pines having spent a good bit of the last two rounds getting sick on the course while shooting rounds of 77-79. It was an unfortunate time to get ill as he opened the Farmers Insurance Open with a 63. A week later, still impacted by illness, he withdrew following one round at Pebble Beach and spent the next several days in bed.
But Åberg was eager to return to Torrey Pines, where the tournament was moved in the aftermath of wildfires that made playing at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles impossible.
He birdied 13, 14 and 15 to catch McNealy, who shot a final-round 64 to set the clubhouse lead at 11-under. Then Åberg flushed a perfect drive down the center on 18 and hit his approach to the par-5 to the back of the green 68 feet from the hole. He two-putted for the winning birdie, draining a testy 6-footer for the win.
Åberg finished three ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Rodgers and collected the tournament trophy from host Tiger Woods.
“I think it’s just sort of the comeback from the last couple weeks,” Åberg said. “I sort of felt like I wasn’t really myself, wasn’t feeling great, wasn’t swinging great, sort of struggled a bit at home last week with how I was playing.
“Was nice to come here sort of starting to feel like myself again and physically getting there. It means a lot. This is the best field in golf and to be able to do what I did today is definitely going to help me going forward in the future.”
Åberg is still just more than a year into his pro career and has the distinction of having played in a Ryder Cup for Europe before competing in a major championship.
The first time he did so was last year at the Masters, where he contended on the final day before finishing second to Scheffler. But he didn’t win the rest of the year, with a couple near misses at Memorial (T5), Scottish Open (T4) and the BMW Championship (T2). He still collected 10 worldwide top-10s between victories.
Ranked No. 6 in the world coming into the week, Åberg has again undoubtedly established himself as one of the game’s up-and-coming superstars.
“Winning is fun, but also being in that situation and in contention trying to win and sort of everything that goes through your mind and the adrenaline and the excitement and the nerves, everything that comes with it is really fun,” he said.