Tiger Woods has been criticised for his “disgusting and unacceptable” decision to meet with LIV Golf’s Saudi sponsors in New York City, just one day before the anniversary of the World Trade Centre terror attacks.
The golf legend and other PGA Tour leaders will reportedly meet with Saudi sponsors of LIV Golf this week as golf’s biggest rivals try to finally reach an agreement.
AX radaratlas2 flight tracking account discovered that private planes owned by Woods, Saudi oil and gas company Aramco and the PGA Tour landed in New York on Monday.
But 9/11 Justice president Brett Eagleson released a damning statement criticizing Woods for holding the meeting just one day before the anniversary of the attacks.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed four passenger jets into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field in southwestern Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
Tiger Woods and other PGA Tour leaders meet with Saudi sponsors of LIV Golf in New York
9/11 Justice Chief Brett Eagleson called the meeting “disgusting, unacceptable and incredibly painful.”
Fifteen of the 19 September 11 attackers were Saudis, but the Saudi government has always denied involvement in the attacks.
Eagleson, who lost his father in the South Tower at age 15, wrote: ‘Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11, but here we are today, in New York City, just around the corner from Ground Zero, and the PGA Tour and Tiger Woods are negotiating with them.
‘As CBS News has confirmed in recent weeks, the Saudi government played a role in the horrific attacks of 9/11.
“It’s disgusting, unacceptable and incredibly hurtful for the Tour and Woods to do this, especially now.”
9/11 Justice has long accused Saudi Arabia of aiding the terrorists who carried out the attacks and has been a frequent critic of LIV Golf.
In 2022, they condemned former President Donald Trump for hosting the Saudi-backed tour at their New Jersey venue, telling him they felt “extreme pain, frustration and anger” as a result of his decision to host the tournament.
The meeting comes just one day before the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York.
Saudi PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and PGA hope to finally reach an agreement
Private jets owned by Woods, Saudi firm Aramco and the PGA Tour landed in New York on Monday.
Both sides of golf’s bitter divide are hoping to finally reach an agreement following the announcement of their surprise merger in June 2023. According to ESPNThe talks are expected to last “several days.”
Talks are believed to focus on sealing a deal under which the PIF will invest $1 billion in PGA Tour Enterprises.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said last month that a deal with the PIF remains a priority, though he said there was no deadline. This comes after the deadline for a deal expired on Dec. 31.
“I don’t think we want to limit ourselves in that way,” Monahan said at the season-ending Tour Championship. “We want to get the best result and the right result at the right time.”
“I think that when you have productive conversations, you increase the likelihood of positive outcomes and you strengthen the spirit of those conversations. I think that’s the way it is.”
Last week it was announced that PGA duo Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will play the LIV pairing of Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
The idea of pitting the best of rival circuits against each other has been floated regularly over the past year and now a made-for-television showdown has been scheduled for Las Vegas in December.
