Tiger Woods says Greg Norman leaving LIV Golf would enable talks to be held between the PGA Tour and the breakaway circuit; the two organisations have lawsuits against each other and Woods says there is too much "animosity" for talks to be held while Norman remains as LIV chief executive
Tuesday 29 November 2022 17:28, UK
Tiger Woods has echoed Rory McIlroy's call for Greg Norman to quit as LIV Golf CEO to allow a peace settlement to be negotiated in golf's civil war.
McIlroy and Woods have been the biggest supporters of the established tours in their battle with the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit, but McIlroy recently called for a compromise to be reached between the rival factions.
The world number one feels that will be impossible if Norman remains at the helm of LIV Golf and 15-time major champion Woods made it clear he feels the same way.
Speaking on Tuesday at a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge, which he has pulled out of due to injury, Woods said: "There is an opportunity out there if both organisations put a stay on their litigation. 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.
"You need to have the two bodies come together and if one side has so much animosity, trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?"
As things stand, it remains unclear whether LIV members will be able to compete in 2023's majors, with clarification yet to come from the governing bodies running The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open.
The likes of Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson hold exemptions to play in majors, but many other LIV players could struggle to qualify due to the lack of Official Golf World Ranking points available to them on the new tour.
Woods continued: "There is a window of opportunity for us from both 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, but again that goes back to LIV and their lawsuit.
"They're suing us first and we countersued 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."
Woods repeatedly admitted that the PGA Tour can't compete with LIV's finances, but insisted that the former's prestige should continue to attract players.
"They've spent probably close to $2bn this year," he added. "Who's to say they can't spend $4bn or $5bn next year? We just don't know. 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.
Woods had intended to play this week but withdrew on Monday due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot and said he had undergone "a couple of surgeries" this year as a result of returning to action following a life-threatening car
accident in February 2021.
The 46-year-old, who declined to reveal any details on the procedures, has not played since the 150th Open Championship in July, when he missed the cut.
"I had a few setbacks during the year that I was able to play through, but this one I can't," added Woods, who said he tested negative for Covid-19 at St Andrews after McIlroy revealed at the weekend he feared he had passed the virus to his friend.
"I was walking more and more trying to get my legs ready for this week and I was just making it worse. I can hit the golf ball and hit whatever shot you want, I just can't walk. Only time can heal this one."
Woods still plans to partner McIlroy in The Match against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas on December 10 and contest the PNC Championship with son Charlie the following week, but will be allowed to use a golf cart in both and reiterated he would never do so in a regular PGA Tour event.
As for next year, the 46-year-old added: "The goal is to play just the major championships and maybe one or two more. That's it. I don't have much left in this leg.
"I didn't expect to play three majors this year. We were hoping for just the British Open, but I was able to get two more in there, so that was a big positive."
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