Woods declined ‘enormous’ offer to join LIV Golf, Mickelson signs up
LIV Golf will make its debut this week at 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.
In an interview with the Washington Post, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said that Woods was offered a “mind-blowingly enormous (deal); we’re talking about high nine digits.”
Woods, who has played in just two tournaments since a devastating leg injury after a car crash in February last year, has maintained his loyalty to the PGA Tour as recently as last month at the PGA Championship.
The new Saudi-backed golf league has landed some top names, though, with Phil Mickelson set to play in the inaugural event which starts Friday at the Centurion Club outside London. Dustin Johnson also will be participating, along with Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Kevin Na, among other top names.
The PGA Tour has threatened a ban of any players that 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.
Tiger Woods turned down an invitation to Greg Norman’s rebel golf series, but Phil Mickelson is a last-minute inclusion.Credit:AP/Getty
“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.”
Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 major titles in his illustrious career, said last month he turned down an offer “in excess of $100 million” to be the CEO of LIV Golf, thus leading to Greg Norman’s appointment.
Mickelson, a chief recruiter for the new league, is ending a four-month hiatus by adding his name to the 48-man field.
“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,” Mickelson said in a statement posted on social media.
Mickelson also said he would be playing the last two majors, starting June 16 in the US Open at The Country Club outside Boston.
He said the “transformative” new league would allow him to focus on a healthier approach to life on and off the course. Mickelson did not mention the signing fee, which is likely to be every bit of the US$125 million ($175m) or more reportedly paid to Johnson.
It will be Mickelson’s first time playing since February 6 at the Saudi International, where he first began to draw attention to how he was leaning when he accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” in an interview with Golf Digest.
Two weeks later, Alan Shipnuck published excerpts from his unauthorised biography on Mickelson in which the six-time major champion acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s human rights atrocities, including the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, but said it was worth getting involved if it meant gaining leverage to make changes on the PGA Tour.
Mickelson also said he and three other top players paid attorneys to write the operating agreement of the new league.
He later apologised for what he said were reckless comments, without mentioning the PGA Tour.
But then he was out of view for four months, skipping the Masters and the PGA Championship, which he had won the year before at age 50 to become the oldest major champion in history.
Mickelson apologised again in Monday’s statement, adding that he “empathises” with those who disagree with his decision to leave the PGA Tour for a league funded primarily by the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia.
“His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated and we are grateful to have him,” said Greg Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf Investments.
“He strengthens an exciting field for London where we’re proud to launch a new era for golf.”
The PGA Tour did not grant releases for any of its 14 members who have signed up for the rival series, a list that also includes Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel.
Five other players from the Asian Tour were added as exemptions.
AP/Reuters
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