Tiger Woods, a 15-time major champion and widely considered the G.O.A.T. of professional golf, declined an offer between $700-800 million to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series, according to Greg Norman. The LIV Golf CEO confirmed that the offer was “somewhere in [that] neighborhood” during an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on Monday night.
“That number was out there before I became CEO,” Norman told Carlson during an interview at this past weekend’s LIV Golf Invitational Series event in New Jersey. “Look, Tiger is a needle mover, right? So, of course, you’ve got to look at the best of the best. They had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO.”
Norman, who was named CEO back in October 2021, first spoke about Woods’ offer from LIV Golf with the Washington Post in June, claiming that the number was “high nine digits.”
Tiger Woods: Not A Fan of LIV Golf
Since returning this year from injuries suffered in a single-vehicle car accident, Woods has been among the biggest critics of LIV Golf. He even threw shade at Norman after the two-time Open champion was not invited by the R&A to the 150th Open.
“The R&A obviously have their opinions and their rulings and their decision,” Woods said. “Greg has done some things that I don’t think is in the best interest of our game, and we’re coming back to probably the most historic and traditional place in our sport. I believe it’s the right thing.”
Woods also did not mince words when talking about the players that decided to join LIV Golf, which is controversially being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The Telegraph in London has reported that Phil Mickelson received a $200 million signing bonus, while Dustin Johnson received $150 million. Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau also were reportedly offered north of $100 million to take their talents to the Saudi-backed league.
“I disagree with it,” Woods simply stated. “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
During the interview with Carlson, Norman fired shots at the PGA Tour yet again, stating they are “a monopoly” and purposely made LIV Golf’s startup difficult.
Norman also said that he was surprised by the decision from long-time corporate sponsors to cut ties with players that made the leap to LIV Golf.
“That blows my mind,” Norman said. “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 organizations [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?”
When asked by Carlson why the LIV Golf Invitational Series has caused so much controversy around the world in the past few months, ‘The Great White Shark’ provided a snarky response.
“I really don’t care,” Norman said. “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.”
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