Everything Tiger Woods has said about LIV Golf after making final TGL decision
Golf legend Tiger Woods will elect to play in his state-of-the-art, digital TGL league over LIV Golf, who offered him nearly £1billion.
Woods and his friend, fellow golfer, and business partner Rory McIlroy created the simulated golf league together. Both PGA Tour stars have expressed their displeasure with LIV in the past, due to the Saudi-funded breakaway league being blamed for disrupting the traditional golf landscape.
Due to the league's modernised match-play format, which involves teams playing 18 holes on a virtual course, Woods and the TGL are confident that fans will understand the product. Like McIlroy, Woods also distinguished between his product and LIV, taking a dig at the Saudi-backed organisation.
"Some of the stuff I've seen in LIV, I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on, " shared Woods. "Here, it's very simple." In the past, Woods has been critical of the Saudi-backed league and CEO Greg Norman despite being accused of copying their ideas. The gold legend also said that it's important for current PGA members to carry on the legacy of the tour for future players. Woods shared that golfers should try to leave the product in a better place than when they arrived.
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Speaking earlier in the year, he said of LIV: "I disagree with it. I think that what they've done is they've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position. Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. That is a possibility. 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 right here, walk down the fairways at Augusta National. That, to me, I just don't understand it."
In the interview, Woods questioned the motivation behind professional golfers receiving substantial guaranteed money and the impact it has on their practice and commitment to the game. He highlighted the stark contrast between the traditional 72-hole tests faced by young players transitioning from amateur to professional golf and the shorter, less rigorous formats and extravagant atmospheres in today's golf tournaments, particularly on the senior tour. He noted that in the past, major championships often had 36-hole playoffs, emphasising the changing landscape of the sport.
The TGL will feature virtual golf courses (@TGL/Twitter)Regarding Norman, Woods simply said that he "had to go," calling for him to step aside from his role. "I think Greg has to go, first of all," he admitted. "And then, obviously, the litigation against us and then our countersuit against them, those would then have to be at a stay as well. Then we can talk. We can all talk freely.”
After Woods returned to action by participating in the Genesis Invitational last year, the golf legend was asked about his thoughts regarding a dinner afterward that could feature several LIV players. He responded by emphasising that the dinner needed to be focused on Scottie Scheffler.
"Scottie’s the winner, it’s his dinner. So making sure that Scottie gets honoured correctly but also realising the nature of what has transpired and the people that have left, just where our situations are either legally, emotionally, there’s a lot there.” When asked how he would treat LIV stars at Augusta, he added Woods said: “I don’t know what that reaction’s going to be. I know that some of our friendships have certainly taken a different path, but we’ll see when all that transpires. That is still a couple of months away.”
With much disdain for LIV, the TGL targets casual golf fans interested in the game but may need more time or attention to devote themselves to it. The league introduces shorter rosters and utilises TGL's advanced technology to achieve this. Woods is confident that this approach will help the company attract more fans and make the game accessible to a broader audience.
Along with a modernised format, Woods and the TGL want to capitalise on the upward-trending phenomenon of sports betting. The golf legend believes involving fans and drawing them in through sportsbooks will be easier.
"It's exciting that this group of guys is coming together for a two-hour window, and we are just going to basically hit balls, talk a lot of [trash], and people are going to be gambling on absolutely everything, each and every shot. Every shot, there's going to be a wager," Woods explained.
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