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Tiger Woods thinks the PGA Tour and LIV Golf can co-exist. He made the statement while addressing the media ahead of his 2022 Hero World Challenge. However, the ace golfer believes that LIV CEO Greg Norman should go.
The 15-time major champion didn’t hold back while speaking about the ongoing LIV-PGA debate. Woods slammed the rebel series’ CEO and said that he mustn’t stay in power for the issues in golf to be resolved. The golfer said that there could be no mutual agreement between the two circuits while Norman was leading the talks.
Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday at the Albany Golf Club, Tiger Woods said:
“I think Greg (Norman) has to go, first of all… It has to start with leadership on their side, understanding that what is happening right now is not the best future for the whole game of golf.”
He added:
“…and then obviously the litigation against us and then our countersuit against them. Those would then have to be at a stay as well, then we can talk, we can all talk freely.”
The golfer’s comments on Norman come only weeks after his partner/PGA Tour rival Rory McIlroy made the same call. The Irishman had also urged the LIV CEO to step down from the leadership position in order to allow “men to talk” on the matter.
Further addressing the chances of LIV and the PGA Tour co-existing, Tiger Woods went on to emphasize the legal battle. The American reiterated that the controversial Saudi-backed series started its legal battle by suing the PGA Tour. He said that his American circuit countersued them after that.
He said:
“Right now, as it is, not right now, not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the Tour itself. I don’t see that happening… There is a window of opportunity for us from both tours to figure this out but I think that window's closing just because the majors are coming up now and they're going to have their own criteria, but again that goes back to LIV and their lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, Woods also went on to accuse LIV Golf of using heavy finances in the game. The golfer admitted that the PGA Tour couldn’t compete with LIV’s finances. He even called out the LIV golfers for their “tasteless” actions while lauding McIlroy for his strong standing against them.
Tiger Woods on young golfers 'choosing money over legacy'
Tiger Woods went on to appeal to young golfers by stating that the PGA Tour’s legacy was too big to be ignored. The ace golfer said that the upcoming golfers could have better opportunities on the tour. He went on to state that the players were choosing money over legacy by moving to the Saudi-backed rebel series.
He added:
“What we can do is talk about better opportunities for younger players getting onto the Tour, what it means to play the Tour, how important it is, how important it is to have a legacy, be able to win major championships …but the other players don’t. They’re taking a chance of never ever, ever getting a chance to play in major championships… It’s an endless pit of money. But that doesn’t necessarily create legacies either.”
Tiger Woods’ comments echoed Rory McIlroy’s statements made over the past few weeks. Considering the strong stand, fans can only wonder if the PGA Tour will ever be ready to consider a truce with LIV.
