Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer joins the Live show to discuss the latest hurdle Saudi-backed LIV Golf is facing as well as a meeting Tiger Woods reportedly held with PGA members.

Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: Saudi Arabia-backed LIV, or LIV Golf, could be facing a setback from a new bill introduced by two Democratic state lawmakers in New Jersey, the Garden State. Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer joins us now with the details here. So what do we need to know?

JOSH SCHAFER: Yeah, Brad. So this bill really kind of centers around where the money comes from when we talk about LIV Golf. We know it's backed by the Saudi PIF. And the bill sort of certainly calls that out. It says, this is to ban all sports organizations operated primarily through use of monies received from sovereign wealth funds. That's really all it says. It's kind of blanket. And I don't really know how much is here, guys. So really, what this is based in, we're showing right now some pictures from the Trump Bedminster tournament that happened last month that was--

BRAD SMITH: You were at that.

JOSH SCHAFER: I was there in New Jersey. And there were protesters outside, victims of 9/11 families. And so that's who they're trying to protect here. But I don't know how much is really there when we think about what other companies the PIF is involved in. Earlier this week, we were talking about the PIF investing in companies like Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, JP Morgan. They had that big $3.5 billion investment in Uber back five, six years ago. All those companies operate in New Jersey, and people don't really worry about where some of those investments come from.

Now, of course, the PIF is pretty much solely funding LIV Golf, so it's a little bit of a different situation. But that's where LIV's defense would probably come from here if this were to eventually play its way all the way out, and the bill got passed and it went to court and kind of that whole thing.

BRIAN SOZZI: So Tiger Woods met with some players. What can Tiger do here? He still drives the needle, I get it. But what type of change can he really create?

JOSH SCHAFER: Yeah, so Tiger flew out to the event that they're having the PGA's tournament. And he's not even supposed to be there. And I think that really speaks to this moment, right, Sozz? The fact that Tiger is going out there-- he doesn't need to be there. He's hosting a players-only meeting because I've talked to people in the know at the PGA in those conversations. They view LIV competition as real because they're losing players. It's time for the PGA to figure out what's next. What can we do--

BRIAN SOZZI: Just buy LIV, right?

JOSH SCHAFER: Right, exactly. They can't, right? And they can't compete with the money, and that's the problem. So I think you've got to look at the majors. What are the players going to do? Are the players going to protest some of these majors? Are they not going to interact with these LIV golfers?

And I think that's probably the next step here because the LIV golfers want to play in the majors, right? Everyone wants to win a major. That's the goal in golf. That's the only thing that these two links seem to have in common. And so what are they going to do when it comes to the majors, I think, is the big question these guys are likely talking about.

BRIAN SOZZI: Well, it's going to have to come down to, I think, some large companies pulling sponsorships, too, if they want to go that route.

BRAD SMITH: Well, for sure. And then when you think about the PGA TOUR, the changes that they have been pressed upon by players for quite some time-- and it does say a lot that Tiger Woods showed up to the BMW Championship, which is a FedEx cup event taking place. I'm going to be there on Friday. I hope he sticks around, quite frankly.

But I think at the end of the day, it really does come down to where are the fans going to gravitate towards as well because those fans are also the ones that the PGA TOUR has seen waning over the years. And those are the fans-- the fans that are still there, the fan base that comes to see Tiger, they're still waiting for that next huge name that's just going to send shockwaves through the sport. And if they go to LIV, then what?

JOSH SCHAFER: And right. And it might be Cam Smith. It's probably going to be Cam Smith, right? He's going to go. He's the number two golfer in the world. Then when this FedEx cup ends next week, who leaves after the PGA season? They've already got all their money. They're not-- they don't care if their membership gets suspended at that point. They can then go to LIV and keep playing and get more money.

And so that's where this thing heads next, is there's going to be more PGA golfers that leave. So the PGA needs to come up with a more concrete plan, Brad. I think you're right. And I think that LIV product is more legit than people are giving credit to, too. People like the team concept. The music is kind of fun. There aren't a lot of fans yet. But they're looking at the fans in the 20 to 30 demographic, right? And the PGA has kind of failed to grab those fans.