Tiger Woods used by PGA Tour for big announcement as LIV Golf deal edges closer

Tiger Woods featured in the PGA Tour's video (Image: Getty Images)

Golf enthusiasts have been treated to a sneak peek at the PGA Tour's state-of-the-art production studio, courtesy of a social media video tour featuring none other than golf icon Tiger Woods. With 82 PGA Tour wins under his belt, Woods is captured exploring the vast 165,000 square-foot facility located in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida, which is slated to become the hub for all PGA Tour productions as of January 2025.

The announcement, first made this January, signals the Tour's ambition to outreach more fans globally with their World Feed broadcasting from the new studio next year. Luis Goicouria, PGA Tour Senior Vice President of Media, shared earlier this year: "Everything that we're doing in terms of forward thinking and new technologies is about serving the fans and meeting them where they are by customizing content so it's maximized for any individual platform.

"Some of the technologies coming out now will be really important and some won't. Of course, you can't tell where the fans will be, but there's a lot of cool things you can do around golf, so the idea for us is to use some of these new platforms and technologies to show off our game and show off the beauty of our sport.

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"Every one of these things that we're doing is with the fan in mind and trying to give the fan the best possible experience and engage them as long as possible."

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And with the countdown to the official launch now well under a month, fans are getting glimpses of what’s in store, thanks largely to Woods.

The PGA Tour's new strategy comes at a crucial juncture, amid talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) aimed at resolving its spat with LIV Golf. Following a surprising tentative agreement in June 2023, discussions between the PGA Tour and PIF have been ongoing.

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An immersive PGA TOUR Studios experience.

Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/wq6SbWriz6

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 26, 2024

After over 18 months of talks, a formal agreement is yet to be sealed, but indications suggest significant headway has been made. A Bloomberg report from earlier this month indicated that PIF is poised to acquire a six percent stake in the tour's profit-making arm, PGA Tour Enterprises.

This potential deal comes on the heels of a massive investment by Strategic Sports Group (SSG), which earlier struck a deal possibly worth $3 billion with PGA Tour Enterprises. The impact of these executive moves on the fairways and greens is yet to fully unfold.

Currently, any PGA Tour golfer participating in the contentious LIV series faces a ban from the US-based tour. This policy has stripped stellar names like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka of their rights to play in PGA Tour events in recent times.