By Tim Parsons-
LIV Golf commissioner, Greg Norman, has confirmed Tiger Woods turned down a massive offer to join the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series .
According to the breakaway circuit’s chief executive Greg Norman, the world’s golfing genius turned down a payment of $700 million to $800 million.
Woods, whose net worth is believed to be at least $1 billion, turned down the offer after voicing his criticism of LIV Golf at the British Open last month.
Norman told Fox News the offer was made before the Australian was named chief of the controversial series, which is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The interview, conducted last weekend during the LIV Golf event in Bedminster, NJ, aired Monday night on “Tucker Carlson Tonight”.
“That number was out there before I became CEO,” Norman said of the dollar figure presented to Woods. “Look, Tiger is a needle-mover, right? So, of course you’re got to look at the best of the best. They had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. That number is somewhere in that neighbourhood.”
Woods was also critical of players who have left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. LIV Golf has lured several players, including past major champions Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, to the new tour with guaranteed contracts reportedly worth between $100 million and $200 million, in addition to prize money at each event.
Woods has made his allegiance to the PGA Tour over the new circuit clear.
“I disagree with it,” Woods said. “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
Speaking at the Open Championship in Scotland last month, Woods said, “The players who have chosen to go to LIV and to play there, I disagree with it. I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.
“You’re just getting paid a lot of money up front and playing a few events and playing 54 holes. They’re playing blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are different.
“I just don’t see how that move is positive in the long term for a lot of these players, especially if the LIV organisation doesn’t get world-ranking points and the major championships change their criteria for entering the events.”
Reports about the amount of money offered to Woods’ previously began to circulate as the event kicked off, when Norman told the Washington Post the offer was ‘mind-blowingly enormous’ and was ‘about high nine digits’.
During an appearance on Fox News with Tucker Carlson on Monday, Norman confirmed the offer was in the region of $700m to $800m.
He commented: “That number was out there before I became CEO. So that number has been out there, yes. And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and of course you have to look at the best of the best. So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. So, yes, that number was somewhere in that neighbourhood.”
Woods previously made clear he ‘disagree[s] with players’ decisions to join LIV Golf, saying during the British Open: “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position… Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. That is a possibility. We don’t know that for sure yet. It’s up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination.”
Norman told Carlson he ‘[doesn’t] know’ why the tour caused such a big uproar, but added: “I really don’t care.”
He continued: “I just love the game so much and I want to grow the game of golf and we at LIV see that opportunity not just for the men but for the women.”
Johnson, who signed to LIV Golf this year, previously distanced himself from the series and claimed he was ‘fully committed to the PGA Tour’, only to then resign his PGA Tour membership.
He signed to LIV Golf for a reported $150m, explaining: “I don’t want to play for the rest of my life, this gives me an opportunity to do what I want to do.”
Woods has taken exception to the fact a host of top players have joined the breakaway tou.
In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Norman confirmed the 15-time major champion was offered about £575m to £650m to join LIV.
“That number was out there before I became CEO,” said Norman.
“Tiger is a needle-mover, right? So of course you’re got to look at the best of the best. That number is somewhere in that neighbourhood.
“They had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO.”
American Woods, who maintained his allegiance to the PGA Tour, said at St Andrews he does not “see how that move is positive in the long term for a lot of these players”.
He also defended the R&A’s decision to rescind former winner Norman’s invitation to festivities celebrating the 150th Open Championship.
“Greg has done some things that I don’t think is in the best interest of our game,” said Woods.
Norman said the PGA Tour is a “monopoly” that “just wants to shut us down whatever way they can”.
“They’ll use whatever leverage point they can to shut us down,” the Australian said in the interview that aired on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ on Monday.
“They’re not going to shut us down because the product speaks for itself.”
He also discussed the criticism that LIV players are receiving from the tour’s connection to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“That blows my mind,” said Norman. “Sponsors, by the way, who spend billions of dollars in Saudi Arabia.
“The PGA Tour has about 27 sponsors, I think, who do 40-plus billion dollars’ worth of business on an annual basis in Saudi Arabia.
“Why doesn’t the PGA Tour call the CEO of those organisations (and say), ‘I’m sorry we can’t do business with you because you’re doing business with Saudi Arabia?’ Why are they picking on the professional golfers?”