PGA Tour player director makes shock claim over LIV Golf Bahamas meeting

PGA Tour player director and former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson says he didn't walk away from the crunch Bahamas meeting 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 enormous wealth fund which bankrolls the breakaway tour. 

Simpson declined to go into specifics about the meeting with the 54-year-old LIV mastermind in Albany that took place on 18 March. 

But he told Bob Harig of SI: "It was never tense. It was a long day but a good day."

He added: "It definitely seems like he [Al-Rumayyan] envisions a place in the game of golf.

"We didn't get as far as what he wants and what does LIV want.

"He certainly seems engaged enough in the game already that he has desires to see the game grow globally, I think it's fair to say.

"And he mentioned growing it in Saudi to try and do that."

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All six of the PGA Tour's player directors were at the meeting in Albany. 

Recently appointed player liaison Joe Ogilvie was there too, alongside PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan and figures from Strategic Sports Group.

Strategic Sports Group invested an initial $1.5bn into PGA Tour Enterprises in January and the talks are over whether the PIF will come on board as minority investors.  

Unsurprisingly the most important figure present was Tiger Woods. 

Woods, 48, is said to have been 'engaged' in the talks and even stayed behind to play golf with Al-Rumayyan after the meeting concluded.

His involvement is of huge significance given his dim view of LIV Golf and the headache it has caused the Tour where he made his name.

Simpson added: "I do think it's a while until we get there. I didn't walk away with a much clearer understanding of what the future holds.

"But I definitely walked away thinking I'm glad we did that. Glad we met him.

"Glad we had a very friendly meeting. It was never tense. It was a long day but a good day."

One high-profile player who will have been delighted the meeting was held is that of Rory McIlroy. 

McIlroy was the first PGA Tour player to meet with Al-Rumayyan and ask the LIV supremo what he wanted to achieve in golf.

The Northern Irishman met in secret with Al-Rumayyan in Dubai in December 2022. 

McIlroy has claimed that in the immediate aftermath of his meeting with Al-Rumayyan, whom he previously hailed as a 'very impressive man', was that it was imperative to open up talks. 

That being said, McIlroy was still blindsided by the 6 June framework agreement announcement. 

His expletive-laden fury was documented in the latest season of the Netflix documentary Full Swing. 

McIlroy subsequently resigned his position on the PGA Tour's policy board and was replaced by Jordan Spieth.

Despite changing his tune on LIV, McIlroy recently opened up old wounds by aiming a dig at Greg Norman. 

In his view, Norman has done Al-Rumayyan a 'disservice'. 

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