Tiger Woods has rejected a deal worth nearly $1 billion to join the Saudi golf revolution, according to Greg Norman, who is the face of Saudi golf.
This comes after the news that Phil Mickelson will end his four month hiatus at the inaugural Saudi backed LIV series at St Albans on Thursday.
Mickelson has been away from golf for a while since his damaging interviews in January but has been tempted back in by a mega £100 million signing on fee for the LIV series.
The six time major champion Mickelson has previously accused the PGA tout of ‘obnoxious greed’ and acting like a ‘dictatorship’. This did not go down well and his image took a massive hit, and as a result he decided to take a break from the sport.
Norman has now revealed that golf legend Woods has rejected the chance to join the Saudi backed golf revolution.
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He told the Washington Post: “Woods turned down a deal that was mind-blowingly enormous; we're talking about high nine digits.”
He also accused other golfers such as Rory McIlory of being ‘brainwashed’ against the rebel circuit and called Jack Nicklaus a ‘hypocrite’ for siding with the PGA tour.
Norman said that executives and agents were 'conspiring against LIV to protect an antiquated system that prevents golfers from realising their own power and worth.'
Woods has given his support to the PGA, as recently as in May.
He said: “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.”
“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.”
He added: “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.”
Topics: Golf, Tiger Woods
Marcus Chan