AR
Sam Greenwood
By Joel Beall
In an interview with the Washington Post, Greg Norman said Tiger Woods was offered a gargantuan deal to join LIV Golf.
Norman, who serves as the CEO for the Saudi-based golf league that launches this week, was profiled by the Washington Post’s Kent Baab. In the piece, Baab notes that LIV Golf representatives pitched the fledgling circuit to Woods’ representatives. According to Norman, the offer was “mind-blowingly enormous.”
“We’re talking about high nine digits,” Norman said.
The news comes on the heels of Jack Nicklaus acknowledging he turned down a $100 million offer to be associated with LIV Golf—in a role that Norman now employs—and reports that Dustin Johnson received a nine-figure deal to play in the LIV Golf Invitational series.
MORE: Phil Mickelson to make return to golf at LIV Golf Invitational
Woods has acknowledged in the past being approached by the backers of LIV Golf. However, he has reiterated his support of the PGA Tour numerous times, including in May at the PGA Championship.
“You know, [Phil Mickelson] has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going. I have my viewpoint on how I see the game of golf, and I’ve supported the tour and my foundation has run events on the tour for a number of years,” Woods said at Southern Hills. “I just think that what Jack [Nicklaus] and Arnold [Palmer] have done in starting the tour and breaking away from the PGA of America and creating our tour in ‘68 or ‘69, somewhere in there, I just think there’s a legacy to that.
“I’ve been playing out here for a couple of years over decades, and I think there’s a legacy to it. I still think that the tour has so much to offer, so much opportunity. … I understand different viewpoints, but I believe in legacies; I believe in major championships; I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There’s plenty of money out here. The tour is growing. But it’s just like any other sport. It’s like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You’ve got to go out there and play for it. We have opportunity to go ahead and do it. It’s just not guaranteed up front.”
The inaugural LIV Golf Invitiational begins this week in London. Johnson headlines the event, with other notables including Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Talor Gooch, Martin Kaymer, Kevin Na and Ian Poulter. Though he’s yet to be formally announced, it is believed Phil Mickelson is also associated with the series.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has promised that any tour member who competes in an event on the rival league would face suspension from the PGA Tour and possibly a lifetime ban. The tour denied conflicting-event releases to all tour members who requested to compete in LIV Golf’s inaugural event.
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