LIV Golf have accused Tiger Woods of publicly criticising younger players for joining the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.
The lucrative LIV Golf series is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and has divided golf, leaving the PGA and DP World Tours fractured after the new series poached some of the sports biggest names. Several of the world’s most prominent players have decided to switch to LIV Golf, including the likes of Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson.
The accusations towards Woods were made in court documents initially submitted by 11 LIV Golf stars, although Carlos Ortiz has since withdrawn his name. The documents were part of an antitrust lawsuit filed against the PGA Tour last week.
The 10 remaining players, including Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Ian Poulter, were suspended by the PGA Tour for joining the controversial LIV Golf Series and believe they are being punished for playing in the breakaway's tournaments. Players who have joined the LIV Golf series - bankrolled by a Saudi Arabian regime renowned for their human rights abuses - were handed immediate and indefinite bans from the PGA Tour.
In the lawsuit, which was filed August 3, the plaintiffs accused the PGA Tour of getting the 15-time major champion to ‘do its bidding’ by attacking and criticising his professional colleagues. It read: “The Tour also got Tiger Woods to do its bidding and publicly criticize golfers— particularly younger golfers—for joining LIV Golf by suggesting they would never play in The Masters, The Open, or other Majors and would not earn OWGR points.”
Ahead of the 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course in July, Woods vented his frustrations at his colleagues for taking the money. He added: “It would be sad to see some of these young kids never get a chance to walk these hallowed grounds and play in these majors.”
The LIV Golf players’ lawsuit claimed Woods’ comments ‘echoed earlier evidence indicating the Tour was continuing to pressure the Majors to join the Tour’s unlawful group boycott to exclude LIV Golf and punish any players who played in any LIV events’. Augusta National, the promoter and organiser of the Masters, were accused of aligning themselves alongside the PGA Tour, suggesting they would ban players from future tournaments if they joined the controversial series.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman revealed his tour, which is bankrolled by the Saudi regime, attempted to seduce Woods with a scarcely-believable offer. When Fox News’ Tucker Carlson asked Norman if the reported $700-800 million offer to Woods was correct, the Australian confirmed it was ‘somewhere in that neighbourhood’.
“That number was out there before I became CEO,” Norman admitted. “That number has been out there, yes. Tiger is a needle mover. So course you got to look at the best of the best. The originally approached tiger before I became CEO so yes, that number is somewhere in that neighbourhood.”
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However, Woods was not tempted by the blockbuster offer and remained loyal to the PGA Tour. He was scathing in his criticism of Norman, declaring: “I know what the PGA Tour stands for, what it has given us: the ability to chase after our careers, the trophies we play for and to earn what we get and the history that has been part of this game.
“I know Greg tried to do what he is doing now back in the early Nineties. It didn't work then and he is trying to make it work now. I still don't see how that is in the game's best interests.
“All the governing bodies, the PGA Tour, the European Tour, all the majors — we all see it differently to Greg.”
