Tiger Woods Turns Down Nine-Figure LIV Deal, Opts To Remain in PGA Tour

Tiger Woods has achieved numerous accolades with the PGA Tour, and now the golfing legend is opting to stay in with the PGA Tour despite an offer from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.

According to LIV Golf Investments CEO, Greg Norman, Woods turned down a huge offer to play in the league. The offer was, “mind-blowingly enormous, we’re talking about high nine digits,” Norman said. Despite the size of the offer, Woods said that he would not leave the PGA Tour amidst the exodus of star players from the PGA Tour to the new upstart league.

The LIV Golf International Series is a new league led by Norman, a former golf star who created the league to challenge the reign of the PGA Tour. The league has come with controversy as PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced that golfers can not golf in both leagues. Stars such as Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na and Dustin Johnson have already announced their departures from the PGA Tour in favor of playing in the new league. According to reports, Johnson was given a sign-on fee of about $125 million when he committed to play for the LIV.

Woods on the other hand has stood firm in his stance on the PGA Tour and reacted to the star power such as Mickelson leaving the Tour, “Phil [Mickelson] has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the tour and committed to the legacy of the tour have pushed back against. But I think that some of his views on how the tour could be run, should be run, been a lot of disagreement there.”

Woods will continue his rehab from injury and has stated that he will not participate in the upcoming U.S. Open, but rather get prepared for the Open Championship in July. He remains supportive of the PGA Tour and its competitions. “I believe in major championships,” he said. “I believe in big events and comparisons to historical figures of the past. There’s plenty of money out there. The Tour is growing. But it’s just like any other sport. It’s like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You’ve got to go out there and play for it. We have the opportunity to go ahead and do it. It’s just not guaranteed up front.”

Article by Noah Odige