Lee Westwood has had a frustrating introduction to life in the LIV Golf series following a barrage of questions during the introductory press conferences - and an old tweet has surfaced leaving the Englishman humiliated.
LIV Golf will stage their first three-day, 54-hole event at The Centurion Club near St Albans from Thursday amid a build-up littered with controversy and infighting that is threatening to tear the sport apart. It was confirmed on Wednesday that Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler are the latest stars set to joining the lucrative tour, whose first event has a purse worth £20million while the series’ total purse is around £200m.
The field for the inaugural event sees the likes of six-time major champion Phil Mickelson and former World No. 1 Dustin Johnson take on Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Charr Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Kevin Na. Johnson, who won the 2016 US Open and the 2020 Masters, officially resigned his PGA Tour membership in order to play in the LIV Golf series, which means the American will be ineligible for the Ryder Cup.
Several golfers have been pressed about signing up for the competition given Saudi Arabia's human rights record, with Westwood pressed by Mirror Sport’s Neil McLeman to answer moral questions. McLeman asked if Westwood would play in apartheid South Africa, to which the Englishman exasperatedly suggested he ‘can’t answer’ hypothetical questions.
The awkward exchange has led to an old tweet of Westwood’s resurfacing online much to the pleasure of golf fans. The tweet was posted by the 49-year-old as a reaction to the failed European Super League project in football, with Westwood adding a GIF of a man swimming in cash.
While there were plenty of online comments saying ‘oh dear’ and generally lamenting the post by Westwood, others were more poignant. Graeme Kelly (@GraemeKelly1) wrote: “It’s mad how there is always a tweet.”
Which golfers will join LIV Golf next ? Let us know in the comments section.
Last Wednesday of the Week (@WednesdayPod) wrote: “The internet always remembers… #LIVGolf,” while Brian Donaldson (@Don_Brian1): “That aged well Lee.”
Finally, user Fingal Tottenham (@FingalTottenham) truly summarised fan outrage at the hypocritical tweet by writing: “Imagine going out of your way to comment on this and then jumping off to do the same thing (only worse) at your first chance.”
Players that resigned their membership could be barred from competing at majors. However, the United States Golf Association (USGA) recently announced that players competing in the LIV Golf Series would still be able to take part at next week’s US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
