Sources are reporting today that according to the breakaway circuit’s CEO Greg Norman, Tiger Woods turned down a sum in the region of $700-800 million to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series,
As Norman told Fox News, “That number was out there before I became CEO. So that number has been out there, yes.” Norman was named chief of the controversial series, which is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“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. That number is somewhere in that ($700-800 million) neighborhood.”
LIV Golf has signed a number of big name players for the series, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, but 15-times major champion Woods has stayed committed to the PGA Tour.
Woods, whom many consider to be the greatest golf player of all time, said before last month’s British Open that he disagreed with the decision by players to join the LIV Series. He compared the circuit, which features huge guaranteed contracts and a 54-hole format, to the senior Champions Tour, declaring, “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
LIV Golf is a professional golf tour financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The name LIV is a reference to the Roman numeral for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number of holes to be played at LIV events.
