Tiger Woods turned down an offer between $700-800 million to step away from the PGA Tour and join the LIV Golf Invitational Series. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman confirmed the offer in an interview airing on Monday night.
Tiger Woods turned down an offer between $700-800 million to join LIV Golf
it sounds like an offer most people couldn't refuse, but according to Greg Norman, Tiger Woods turned down a massive payday in the range of $700 to $800 million to become part of the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
On Monday night, Greg Norman was interviewed on an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight. Norman said Woods was approached by LIV Golf, and they offered the 15-time major champion the astonishing figure of $700 million on the low end and up to $800 million on the high-end, ESPN reported.
Greg Norman is now the CEO and Commissioner of the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
"The number has been out there, yes," Norman told Carlson. "Tiger is a needle mover."
"So of course you got to look at the best of the best," Norman continued. "They originally approached Tiger before I became CEO."
"So yes, that number is somewhere in that neighborhood," Norman added.
Norman had previously hinted at the offer, noting that the money was 'mind-blowingly enormous,' the New York Post reported.
The Saudi Arabia-backed LIV golf league has gained notoriety for offering audacious sums of money in an attempt to pry golfers from the PGA Tour. However, with Norman's confirmation, the offer made to Woods now appears to be the most lucrative deal known to date.
Several players have been lured to join the LIV Golf tour with guaranteed contracts reportedly in the range between $100 million and $200 million, in addition to prize money at each event, including past major champions Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, and Brooks Koepka.
Woods has been outspoken against LIV
In mid-July, when arriving at the British Open, Woods openly spoke out against players joining the LIV Tour. He voiced his support for the decision made by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews to disinvite Greg Norman out of concerns his presence might be a distraction, being that he is the chairman of the LAV tour, the Washington Post reported.
"The R&A obviously have their opinions and their rulings and their decision," Woods said. "I believe it's the right thing."
"Greg has done some things that I don't think are in the best interest of our game, and we're coming back to probably the most historic and traditional place in our sport," Woods continued.
"The players who have chosen to go to LIV and to play there, I disagree with it," Woods added. "I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position."