(CelebrityAccess) — Tiger Woods reportedly turned down a massive payday worth between $700 million to $800 million to participate in the LIV Golf Series, a tournament funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Greg Norman, a former professional golfer who now oversees the LIV Golf series as CEO of LIV Golf Investments appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson on Sunday night where he amplified previous statements to the Washington Post about the scope of the deal Woods walked away from.
During the interview, Carlson asked Norman if it was true that the LIV offered woods $700M-$800M to play.
“That number has been out there, yes,” Norman responded. “Tiger is a needle mover. So, of course, you’ve got to look at the best of the best. They had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO,” he said, before adding, “yes, that number is somewhere in that neighborhood.”
As the Associated Press noted, Woods has remained loyal to the PGA tour and voiced his opposition to LIV Golf, including at a recent appearance at the British open where he suggested other golfers who accepted LIV money had “turned their back” on the PGA tour.
Other golfers, including Rory McIlroy, have voiced criticism of the LIV Golf Series. In June, at a news conference ahead of the U.S. Open at The Country Club, McIlroy said that golfers accepting LIV money were “taking the easy way out.”
“I understand. Yes, because a lot of these guys are in their late 40s. In Phil [Mickelson]’s case, early 50s. Yeah, I think everyone in this room would say to themselves that their best days are behind them. That’s why I don’t understand for the guys that are a similar age to me going because I would like to believe that my best days are still ahead of me, and I think theirs are, too. So that’s where it feels like you’re taking the easy way out,” McIlroy told reporters.
While the LIV Golf series has faced opposition from numerous golfers such as Woods Rory McIlroy, over its ties to Saudi Arabia and its rivalry with the PGA, it has also attracted multiple high profile golfers such as Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Pat Perez, according to the ESPN.
