Woods insists Major “window is closing” and peace talks won’t happen unless Norman steps down
Masters champion Tiger Woods plays his stroke from the No. 12 tee during Practice Round 2 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Monday, November 9, 2020.
TIGER WOODS insists “the window is closing” for peace talks and the possibility of Major opportunities for LIV Golf members unless they jettison CEO Greg Norman and drop their lawsuit against the PGA TOUR .
Speaking ahead of his hosting of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, the 15-time Major winner, who has been forced to withdraw with a foot injury, reiterated Rory McIlroy’s belief that Norman must step down as CEO if the impasse between the Saudi-backed circuit and the US and European Tours is to be resolved.
Woods said he was surprised by how “convoluted” the situation has become and the “animosity" between the two sides.
“There's no willingness to negotiate if you have a litigation against you,” Woods said. “If they both have a stay and have a break, and then they can meet and figure something out, then maybe there is something to be had.
“But I think Greg has to go first of all, and then obviously the litigation against us and then our countersue against them. Those would then have to be stayed as well. So then then we could talk we could all talk freely.”
Asked if he could see himself being a peacemaker, Woods reiterated his belief that nothing will happen until Norman steps away as CEO of LIV Golf.
“I don't know if it's whether it's going to be me or Rory or the tour or other players being necessarily a peacemaker,” Woods said. “But I just think that there's a window I think of opportunity for us from both tours to figure this out shortly.
“But I think that windows closing just because the majors are coming up now. And they're going to have their own criteria for the for the majors. “But if they can do it quickly before that, again, that goes back to LIV in their lawsuit, they're suing us first. And then we countersued them.
“So they have to back off the table, then we'll back off the table and then we have a place to talk. But their leadership has to change as well. And if it doesn’t then I think is going to continue to go down the path that is going right now.”
Woods admitted the PGA TOUR cannot compete financially with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia but asked how he saw the saga playing out, he said: “We don't know. No one knows. Right now, there's a lot of animosity, especially from their leadership.
“They want to be validated tour with world ranking points, and they're buying up tours around the world. And I don't know, I don't know what their endgame is. It might be just just being an official member of the golf ecosystem and being recognised with world ranking points. I think that's where their intended goal is.
”You know, they've spent probably close to $2 billion this year, who is to say they can't spend four or $5 billion next year. You know, we just don't know. It’s just an endless pit of money. But that doesn't necessarily create legacies either.
“If you want to compare yourself to Hogan, if you want to compare yourself to Sneed, if you want to compare yourself to Nicklaus, you can't do that over there, which can on this floor. “
As for the possibility of the two rival tours co-existing, Woods said he could not see that happening.
“Right now, as it is not right now? Not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the tour itself. I don't see that happening.
“As Rory said, and I said that as well. I think Greg's got to leave and then we can eventually hopefully have a stay between the two lawsuits and figure something out.
“But why would you change anything, if you’ve got a lawsuit against you? They sued us first.”
Woods was full of praise for McIlroy’s unofficial stance as a spokesperson for the PGA TOUR and his disappointment with many of the “rebels”.
“What Rory has said and done is what leaders do,” Woods said. “And Rory is a true leader out here on tour. The fact that he's actually able to get the things he said out into the public eye and be so clear-minded with it, and so eloquent with it, meanwhile, go out there and win golf tournaments on top of that. People have no idea how hard that is to do. To be able to separate those two things.
“But he's been fantastic. He's a great leader in our calls we make. And then he's a great leader with all the players out here. Everyone respects him. They respect him, not just his ball striking or his driving but because of the person he is.”
As for the year of turmoil the tour has just experienced, he added: “I think this whole year has been a year that we didn't expect. As I said, the animosity, the angst and then the players leaving and then the way they showed their disregard or disrespect to the tour that helped the get to that point, there are a lot of things I certainly don't like about it.
“Certain players are very upfront with it, and have declared it and I respect them for that. But there's also a flipside to that to that I thought it was a little bit on the distasteful side.”
Woods, who has not played since he missed the cut at The Open, revealed he had undergone “a couple of surgeries” this year though the refused to go into details and hoped to play only the Majors and a couple of other events in 2023.
As for catching COVID with Rory McIlroy during the JP McManus Pro-Am in July, as revealed by the Sunday Independent, he said: “Yeah, I got tested and I was the only negative. I was feeling under the weather. Yes. Wasn't feeling great a whole week, but I never got a positive test.”
