Tiger Woods Confident Men's Pro Golf Will 'Heal Quickly' And Suggests Merger Could Occur 'Very Soon'

Men's professional golf could well see a merger between the three leading tours "very soon this year," according to Tiger Woods.

The 15-time Major winner has been a central figure in conversations regarding the future of the sport since the June 6 agreement was announced in 2023, but progress regarding exactly how the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf will cooperate moving forward appears to have been slow in recent months.

However, with the election of Donald Trump back to the White House, several key voices seem to feel that the golf-enthused President can help expedite a deal the overwhelming majority of fans and stakeholders have long been crying out for.

Back in November, Rory McIlroy suggested that Trump's return to Washington DC may "clear the way" for a peace deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Woods and Adam Scott - player directors on the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council - met with Trump and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan earlier this month with the goal of bringing forward the date on which a merger is completed.

Speaking during the closing stages of CBS' Genesis Invitational broadcast on Sunday, Woods believes those conversations were productive and revealed another meeting is in the diary in order to work towards bring golf back together.

Woods said: "I think we're in a very positive place right now. We had a meeting with the President. Unfortunately, I had some other circumstances that came up, but Jay [Monahan] and Adam [Scott], they did great during the meeting, and we have another subsequent meeting coming up."

Any agreement between the leading tours cannot come a moment too soon, in Woods' view, who said golf has been losing its way for a long time now.

Nevertheless, the 49-year-old is optimistic that once the paperwork is signed off, golf will move forward together and any old scars will be quickly forgotten.

Woods said: "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."

Later asked by CBS' Jim Nantz if a merger could take place this year "or very soon this year," despite the many complications involved, Woods replied: "Yes. Yes and yes."

Away from fixing men's pro golf, Woods confirmed he will return to action during the upcoming batch of TGL fixtures.

The Californian was due to make his first PGA Tour start since The Open last July at the recent Genesis Invitational but withdrew in the days before the tournament after revealing he was "not ready" to play given the death of his mother, Kultida on February 4.

SoFi Center was the location of Tiger and Kultida's last public appearance together, with the 80-year-old watching on as Jupiter Links defeated Boston Common 4-3 in overtime on January 27.