TIGER WOODS came out fighting in golf’s civil war and aimed heavy criticism at Greg Norman and those players who have defected to the LIV Golf Series which the Australian fronts.
Speaking ahead of the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, Woods’s disdain for the Saudi-backed concept, which involves three rounds, no cuts and huge, guaranteed prize funds, was clear
“To play there, I disagree with it,” said Woods. “They’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.
“What these players are doing for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practise?” he asked himself. “What is the incentive to go out there and earn it in the dirt?
“You’re just getting paid a lot of money up front and playing a few events and playing 54 holes. I can understand 54 holes is almost like a mandate when you get to the senior tour. The guys are a little bit older and a little more banged up. But when you’re at this young age and some of these kids – they really are kids who have gone from amateur golf into that organisation – 72-hole tests are part of it.”
Woods mulled over the prospect of LIV golfers remaining blocked from the world rankings and missing out on qualifying for majors as a result. The board of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) will meet this week with LIV’s push for world ranking status high on the agenda.
Woods added: “Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. We don’t know that for sure yet. It’s up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination. But that is a possibility, that some players will never, ever get a chance to play in a major championship, never get a chance to experience this (St Andrews) right here or walk down the fairways at Augusta National.
“It would be sad to see some of these young kids never get a chance to experience it and experience what we’ve got a chance to experience and walk these hallowed grounds and play in these championships.”
