Tiger Woods declined ‘enormous’ offer to join LIV Golf: report

LIV Golf will make its debut this week in London without Tiger Woods, but it made a substantial offer to lure the 15-time major winner to the new international golf league, according to a new report.

Woods, who has played in just two tournaments since a devastating leg injury after a car crash in February 2021, maintained his loyalty to the PGA Tour as recently as last month at the PGA Championship.

The PGA Tour has threatened to ban any players who compete in a LIV Golf event. Woods, 46, was not ready to sever ties with the tour where he made a name for himself and where he has won 82 total events, tied for the most all-time with Sam Snead.

“I’ve been playing out here for a couple of years over decades, and I think there’s a legacy to it,” Woods said during the PGA Championship. “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.”

LIV Golf chief executive officer Greg Norman - who was appointed after Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 major titles in his illustrious career, turned down an offer “in excess of US$100 million” for the post - said in an interview with the Washington Post that Woods was offered a “mind-blowingly enormous (deal); we’re talking about high nine digits.”

The new Saudi-backed golf league has landed some top names, though, with Phil Mickelson confirming that he will play in the inaugural event, which starts on Friday at the 7,100-yard Centurion Club outside London.

In a news release, Norman said: “Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the greatest golfers of this generation.

“His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated, and we are grateful to have him. He strengthens an exciting field for London where we’re proud to launch a new era for golf.”

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Mickelson, 51, has not played in a tournament since competing in the Saudi International in February. His last event on the PGA Tour was the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

“I am ready to come back to play the game I love, but after 32 years this new path is a fresh start, one that is exciting for me at this stage of my career and is clearly transformative, not just for myself, but ideally for the game and my peers,” Mickelson said in a statement.

Last week, LIV Golf announced 42 of the 48 players who were participating in the LIV Golf International starting on Thursday (Jun 9) at the Centurion Club outside London.

Dustin Johnson, the biggest name on that list, was offered US$125 million by LIV Golf to join its rival tour, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Other notable names in this week’s field include Englishmen Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Talor Gooch, Germany’s Martin Kaymer and South Africans Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace.

Garcia, Oosthuizen, Schwartzel and Grace resigned from the PGA Tour to pursue LIV, their manager told media outlets later Monday. They followed Na, who made his resignation announcement on Saturday.

Coverage of the event will be streamed on the organisation’s website as well as on YouTube and Facebook.

The Saudi-backed rival to the PGA Tour also announced on Monday that Arlo White will anchor the three-person broadcast booth with Jerry Foltz and Dom Boulet. White was the longtime voice of NBC’s coverage of England’s Premier League soccer.

On-course commentator Su-Ann Heng and on-course reporter “and social influencer” Troy Mullins also will contribute to the coverage, starting with Thursday’s opening round.

LIV Golf said more than 50 cameras and 16 different towers will be used, along with player and caddie mics, to follow all the action as the 12-team, 48-player field opens with a shotgun start.

“The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before,” chief media officer Will Staeger said in a press release.

“The innovations we are introducing to the sport will be distributed to existing and new audiences all over the world as we deliver golf coverage dedicated to entertainment and access. We’ve built a world-class production team that has combined the industry’s best practices with a reimagined experience for viewers to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast.

“We’ve been counting down the days to Thursday’s start so fans can tune in and watch what we have been working on.” REUTERS