Tiger meets with Finchem over marketing issues

Wednesday, November 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(AP)-Tiger Woods and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem took the first step toward resolving a dispute over marketing rights by meeting in Los Angeles, and both expressed confidence they could work together.

Woods, the No. 1 player in the world and largely responsible for an enormous boost in golf's popularity, stunned PGA Tour officials earlier this month when he said the tour was taking financial advantage of him with policies that controlled his rights.

He also said Finchem only talked to him when the commissioner wanted Woods to play in a particular tournament.

They met Monday and discussed player marketing rights, commercial use of player images and the Internet.

Woods said he also reassured Finchem that his objectives have nothing to do with getting a share of the next four-year TV contract, which will be negotiated next year.

``It was important for us to meet face-to-face to gain a clearer understand of each other's business objectives,'' Woods said in a statement released by the PGA Tour.

Finchem said he was pleased with the positive tone of the meeting.

``I'm delighted we're discussing the specifics of his business strategy, because a significant mission of the tour is to provide our members with a strong marketing platform,'' Finchem said in the statement.

They said the dialogue would continue, and were confident that Woods' business objectives and those of the PGA Tour are compatible.

Woods had a news conference scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST at his Williams World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif. But his agent, Mark Steinberg of IMG, said there would be no further comment on the meeting with Finchem.

Still, the fact both sides acknowledged the meeting _ and agreed to issue a joint statement _ was a sign that a compromise could occur soon, especially in light of how upset Woods had been with the tour.

He first vented his frustrations to Golf World magazine in its Nov. 10 issue. When asked how serious the conflict was, Woods said, ``Serious enough that if we don't make everyone aware of it now, it could escalate into a bigger situation.''

Among his concerns:

_ Implied endorsements, where PGA Tour sponsors were able to use Woods' and other players' images in advertisements.

_ Rights fees, in which ABC Sports had to pay the tour $400,000 to televise Woods' exhibition match against David Duval last year. When Woods set up another made-for-TV match against Sergio Garcia this year, the fee was raised to $1.5 million.

_ Interactive media. This involves Woods getting back all of his rights, some of which the PGA Tour owns became Woods is a member. This would enable Woods to explore several untapped areas involving the Internet.

``We're just wanting to get our rights back, and not having these implied endorsements,'' Woods told The Associated Press during the season-ending tournament in Spain. ``It's not about getting a cut of the TV revenue. It's about doing what's right by the players.''