Report: Why Tiger Woods made recent trip to White House

The reason for Tiger Woods' recent visit to the White House has been revealed, according to a report. 

Woods made the trip to the U.S. capitol on 9 May to speak with American president Donald Trump. 

Three days later Trump, 78, made his first major foreign trip of 2025 to Saudi Arabia where he announced a $142bn arms deal.

The announcement prompted speculation the agreement could help the PGA Tour get a deal over the line with the kingdom's Public Investment Fund. 

Negotiations between the backers of LIV Golf and the established North American circuit have been ongoing since June 2023. 

LIV launched in 2022 and - lured by huge signing fees and $25m prize purses - several top players moved from the PGA Tour. 

Those players include the likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith. 

The PGA Tour said it was 'closer to a deal' in February since Trump intervened in negotiations.

Even Woods sounded optimistic and declared an agreement would be reached at some point this year. 

"We're going to get this game going in the right direction," Woods said during the Genesis Invitational. 

"It's been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years. 

"The fans want all the top players playing together and we're going to make that happen."

Golfweek's Eamon Lynch has now reported the reason for Woods' visit was to make sure the president would 'stay on message' during his trip to Saudi Arabia. 

Lynch wrote Trump was to inform Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, that 'any deal between the Tour and the kingdom's Public Investment Fund will be on the Tour's terms and those terms will not include a long-term future for LIV.'

The report added: 

"Tiger Woods, a director on the Tour’s policy board — and around whom Trump is reduced to a fawning fan boy — was dispatched to the White House late last week to ensure the president would be on message in Riyadh."

The trip to the White House was Woods' second of 2025.

On 20 February, Woods was joined by fellow player-director Adam Scott and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan at the White House. 

PIF chief and LIV mastermind Yasir Al-Rumayyan was also there but no deal was agreed.

It was understood Al-Rumayyan left the U.S. angry. 

He rejected the Tour's proposed terms and was reportedly miffed the circuit valued LIV at $500m and had no desires to grow team golf. 

LIV have ploughed north of $5bn into the breakaway league so far.