'I think Greg has to go' - Tiger Woods calls for Norman to leave LIV Golf to help heal golf's wounds
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Updated 30/11/2022 at 12:35 GMT
Tiger Woods was supposed to be preparing to tee it up at the Hero World Challenge, but a foot injury dashed his hopes of a first start since missing the cut at the Open Championship. He is in Albany for an event hosted by his foundation, and he was front and centre at a press conference and said there needs to be change at LIV Golf in order for talks to take place with the PGA Tour.
'I think Greg has to go' - Woods calls for Norman to leave LIV to help heal golf
Tiger Woods has backed Rory McIlroy’s view that Greg Norman needs to depart the LIV Golf scene in order for the sport to heal the current fractures.
LIV Golf emerged on the scene earlier this year, with the Saudi-funded series throwing huge contracts at players to sign up.
Players who departed from the PGA Tour were suspended or gave up their memberships, and the animosity has continued and could end up being thrashed out in the courts.
Norman is the front-man of LIV and has traded barbs with the PGA Tour’s commissioner Jay Monahan and other leading figures.
McIlroy, who was outspoken in his criticism of LIV, softened his stance recently but said Norman had to leave in order for the two parties to reach common ground.
Norman was not drawn to comment on McIlroy’s statement, but remains front and centre of the LIV push as he travelled to his native Australia to confirm an event would take place in Adelaide in 2023.
The Australian received backing from LIV’s top-ranked recruit in Cameron Smith, who said Norman was working hard as he believed in the product.
“He believes in what he does,” Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald. “Maybe sometimes Greg comes off a little bit abrasive, but he’s just trying to get a point across. He really does believe in this thing.”
The abrasive nature Smith alluded to is what has caused issues for the likes of McIlroy and Woods, and the latter feels the only way forward is for Norman to step away.
Asked if common ground can be found, 15-time major winner Woods said: “As it is, not with their leadership, not with Greg there, and his animosity towards the Tour. I don’t see that happening.
"I think Greg has to leave, first of all. As Rory said, I think he has to leave and then we can eventually figure something out and talk freely.
"I think it has to start with leadership on their side, there is a lot of animosity. Understanding that what is happening right now is not the best fit for the future for the whole game of golf.
"Now, what is the best way for our game to grow? It's not this way. But granted, you need to have the two bodies come together. If one side has so much animosity, someone trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?"
LIV has thrown eye-watering sums of money at players, but Woods feels that alone will not bring success.
"They want to be a validated tour with world ranking points and they're buying up tours around the world and I don't know what their end game is," he said. "You know, they've spent probably close to $2bn (£1.67m) this year. Who's to say they can't spend $4bn or $5bn next year? We just don't know. It's an endless pit of money.
"But that doesn't necessarily create legacies either. You want to compare yourself to [Ben] Hogan, you want to compare yourself to [Sam] Snead, you want to compare yourself to [Jack] Nicklaus, you can't do that over there, but you can on this Tour."
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