Tiger Woods gives crucial update on the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations ahead of The Open Championship

Tiger Woods has given an important update regarding the PGA Tour's deal with Saudi Arabia's PIF. He said that the negotiations with the PIF were moving forward and that the Department of Justice was ensuring things were done legally.

Woods is at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland this week for the Open Championship. The fourth Major of the season will be played from Thursday, July 18, to Sunday, July 21.

On Tuesday, July 16, during the pre-event press conference, Tiger Woods shed light on the current status of the PGA Tour-PIF deal. He said that they were making progress, but he couldn't share more details as it was important to keep the negotiations private.

"Things are moving and changing," he said. "It's evolving each day. There are emails, chains, texts, and ideas that we bounce back and forth from both sides. There's a good interchange of ideas and thoughts on how the game could look going forward.

"It's just a matter of putting that all together legally," he added. "The DOJ has oversight, looking into that as well, ensuring we don't do anything improperly. We also need to make sure that all the players benefit from this, as well as everyone involved. They want to make money and achieve a return. We're now into a for-profit model, so we have to make returns."

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Tiger Woods says he declined the Ryder Cup captaincy due to the 'loaded schedule'

The 15-time Major champion also reflected on his decision to reject the Ryder Cup captaincy offer.

"I mean, my time has been so loaded with the Tour and everything we're trying to accomplish," he said. "I'm on so many different subcommittees that it just takes so much time in the day, and I'm always on calls."

The 48-year-old golfer further revealed that he informed PGA CEO Seth Waugh that he didn't feel he could do the job properly, as it was difficult to devote the necessary time with his packed schedule.

"And add in the TGL starting next year, as well as the Ryder Cup. And you add all that together with our negotiations with the PIF, all that concurrently going on at exactly the same time," he said.

Tiger Woods added that it would have been an injustice to the captaincy, the players, and Team USA if he had accepted the offer without having enough time to commit.