MIAMI – Tiger Woods says Greg Norman “has to go” as commissioner of the LIV Golf Series if the upstart circuit is to exist in harmony with the PGA and DP World Tours.

The 15-time Major champion, speaking on Tuesday before his Hero World Challenge at the Albany in the Bahamas, echoed comments in November by Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy, both saying that litigation between the parties must also be dropped if progress is to be made.

“There is an opportunity out there if both organisations put a stay on their litigation,” Woods said. “That’s the problem. There is no willingness to negotiate if you have litigation against you. I think Greg has to go first of all.

“It has to start with leadership on their side, understanding that what is happening right now is not the best future for the whole game of golf... If one side has so much animosity, trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?”

Norman has been the confrontational face of the breakaway circuit funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

He said in September he had “no interest” in negotiating with the established tours in a bid to heal the bitter split sparked by LIV Golf’s luring of some of the game’s biggest names with multi-million dollar purses for their 54-hole, no-cut tournaments.

The new circuit has been accused of “sportswashing” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, and the US tour responded to its challenge by suspending players who competed in LIV events.

The European tour’s attempt to sanction players making the jump is also facing a legal challenge.

It remains to be seen if the organisers of the four Major championships – the Masters, US and British Opens and the PGA Championship – will open their doors to the rebels, who include past Major winners such as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

“There is a window of opportunity for us from both (US and LIV) tours to figure this out, but I think that window’s closing just because the Majors are coming up now and they’re going to have their own criteria,” Woods said.

“But again that goes back to LIV and their lawsuit. They’re suing us first and we counter-sued them. 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.

“If that doesn’t, then I think it’s going to continue going down the path that it’s going right now.”

An unexpected year

He praised world No. 1 McIlroy’s leadership in the crisis, noting that it was up to established tour loyalists to remind young golfers of the legacy of those circuits.

“I don’t know what their end game is,” he said of LIV.

“It might be just being an official member of the golf ecosystem and being recognised with world ranking points.

“I think that’s what their intended goal is. You know, they’ve spent probably close to US$2 billion this year. Who’s to say they can’t spend US$4 or US$5 billion next year?

“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.”

Eye on Majors

Woods, still hindered by the leg injuries he suffered in a 2021 car wreck, said he is hoping to play the Majors in 2023.

“My goal is to play the Major championships and one or two more. Physically, that’s all I can do. I don’t have much left in this leg.”

Woods, who hosts the unofficial event that benefits his TGR Foundation, withdrew from the tournament on Monday because of painful plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which he said was related to the injuries from the car crash outside Los Angeles in February 2021.

He revealed he had undergone two additional surgeries in 2022, although he declined to discuss specifics.

Woods appeared in just three professional tournaments in 2022 – making his return to elite competition by finishing 47th at the Masters in April. He withdrew after 54 holes at the PGA Championship, then missed the cut at the British Open.

On Tuesday, he said it is still a challenge to practise enough to be competitive, adding: “How hard do you push it to make progress while not pushing it too hard to go off the edge and you set yourself back two, three days,” he said. REUTERS, AFP