Trump Meets With Tiger Woods About Merging PGA Tour with LIV Golf

President Trump, using the power of the presidency to intervene in global sports diplomacy, on Thursday deepened his efforts to broker an elusive agreement involving the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league that could ultimately benefit his family’s golf courses.

For the second time this month, Mr. Trump hosted key negotiators at the White House to try to repair a bitter breach between the prestigious American men’s golf tour and the insurgent league bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

Thursday’s meeting was particularly notable as it included not only Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, who visited the Oval Office in early February, but also Yasir al-Rumayyan, who is LIV’s chairman and the head of the sovereign wealth fund, as well as the golf great Tiger Woods.

The session underscored what ethics experts say is a growing pattern of conflicts of interest in Mr. Trump’s second term. While it is common for American presidents to promote American businesses, like the PGA Tour, Mr. Trump’s starring role in these negotiations is highly unusual because the outcome could benefit his own company. The Trump family controls one of the world’s finest portfolios of golf courses and has hosted tournaments for the PGA Tour and, more recently, LIV.

A lasting agreement involving the rival circuits could once more lead the sport’s top figures to compete against one another at the Trump family’s courses, potentially offering Mr. Trump’s company millions of dollars and greater prestige. It could also require some involvement by the Justice Department, whose antitrust enforcers have been attuned to whether a deal would stifle competition in the United States.

At a Black History Month reception on Thursday, Mr. Trump, who has long envisioned himself as a sports power broker, appeared giddy to have hosted Mr. Woods and the golfer Adam Scott, who are both members of the PGA Tour’s board. He said he had participated in “interesting discussions” with his visitors, but he did not elaborate.