By Phil Casey
Jordan Spieth has confirmed that a group of PGA Tour players are close to meeting officials from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as efforts continue to make a deal to end golf’s civil war.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed on Tuesday that he had met with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan in January and Golfweek reported on Friday that the Tour’s player-directors were set to follow suit imminently.
Spieth, who is one of six player-directors, was asked if that report was accurate following his second round in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
“We are being encouraged to potentially meet with them at some point, yeah,” Spieth said.
Asked when that was going to happen, the former world number one added: “I’m not sure that I can say much more other than we’re being encouraged to potentially meet with them, but at the same time we probably feel like our membership should know timings and what could happen and just in general maybe it’s just a meet.
“I think there’s not a whole lot more I can say about that, but we are being encouraged obviously which I think is probably a good thing that the entire board should [meet] if there’s going to be any potential for a negotiation.”
Spieth was also asked to address his part in the drop controversy during Thursday’s first round at Sawgrass, when he and Viktor Hovland appeared to question where playing partner Rory McIlroy was taking a penalty drop after hitting his tee shot into the water on the seventh.
“I thought it ended up in a good spot,” Spieth said. “I only walked over there because I thought he had dropped it and then he was questioning where he was dropping it.
“So I was just trying to make sure he didn’t play it and everyone was good. I was good with the spot he was choosing.
“I get it’s me and Rory, but that kind of conversation probably happened a dozen times yesterday in groups.
“Again, it was like Viktor was having the conversation, and I only walked over because it seemed like, ‘hey, let’s just make sure everything is all right’, which I wasn’t even planning on getting involved and maybe shouldn’t have, but it seemed like they were maybe at a sticking point.
“So I thought maybe I could help.”
