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Friday, November 22, 2024

Tiger Woods rejected $A1billion LIV Golf offer: Greg Norman

Tiger Woods turned down an offer that Greg Norman says was around $A1 billion to take part in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.

During an appearance on Fox News in the United States with Tucker Carlson that aired Monday night, Norman confirmed what he told the Washington Post in a story two months ago. 

Norman told the Post in June the offer was “mind-blowingly enormous; we’re talking about high nine digits”.

He said it was “somewhere in that neighbourhood of $US700 million ($A998 million) to $800 million ($A1140 million)” 

Woods has been opposed to LIV Golf since late last year, and he delivered his strongest comments at the British Open when he said players who took the money funded by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund had “turned their back” on the PGA Tour that made them famous.

When an offer was made to Woods was not clear.

“That number was out there before I became CEO,” Norman said in the Fox News interview, which took place on Sunday at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the third LIV Golf Invitational was held.

“And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and of course you have to look at the best of the best,” Norman said. 

“So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO.”

Various reports out of the United Kingdom have said Phil Mickelson received a $US200 million ($A285 million) signing bonus, while fellow American Dustin Johnson received $US150 million ($A214 million). 

The 48-man fields, which play 54 holes with no cut, offer $US25 million (A$26 million) in prize money at each event. 

LIV Golf currently has only one player – Johnson at No. 18 – from the top 20 in the world but is reportedly trying to lure across Australia’s world No.2 Cameron Smith.

The source of the funding has led to sharp criticism of the series and the players who have enlisted because it is viewed as an attempt to distract attention from its human rights record and links to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

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