LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman confirmed the upstart golf league was willing to bring out the big bucks in a bid to get golf star Tiger Woods to join.
During an interview that aired Monday evening, Fox News host Tucker Carlson pressed Norman on rumors that LIV offered Woods between $700 to $800 billion. That appeared to be a slip-up and he likely intended to say million. Still, Norman responded in the affirmative that this salary range had been floating around and said LIV was eager to attract the golf legend to its ranks.
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“That number was out there before I became CEO. That number has been out there, yes. Tiger is a needle mover. So course you got to look at the best of the best. They originally approached Tiger before I became CEO so yes, that number is somewhere in that neighborhood.”
Carlson had been spotted at the LIV event at former President Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf club in Bedminster over the weekend. During his show, Carlson made it clear that he had been interested in exploring how LIV was seeking to challenge the PGA Tour, but was adamant that he was not choosing sides.
Woods was severely injured in a major car crash in February of last year and described a painful road to recovery. He has returned to golf, but has cast doubt on how competitive he will be going forward given the state of his injuries.
A number of big-name professional golfers including Rory McIlory, Cameron Smith, and Scottie Scheffler have joined LIV. The upstart golf competition, which has amassed a monster financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been offering prominent golfers lucrative contracts to join its league. Golf star Phil Mickelson was even heckled by a spectator, who shouted at one point last week, “Do it for the Saudi royal family!”
Woods has publicly cast aspersions on the financial situation with LIV.
“These players that are doing it for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practice? What is the incentive to go out there and earn it in the dirt? You’re just getting paid a lot of money upfront and playing a few events, playing 54 holes,” Woods said last month.
Rumors had swirled that LIV had its eyes set on getting Woods to join its golf rebellion. In May, Woods withdrew from the PGA Championship due to his injuries.
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The PGA Tour, which is run by a separate organization from the organizers of the PGA Championship, has blocked some of the professional golfers who participated in LIV from competing in its events, prompting an anti-trust inquiry.
LIV has been facing a firestorm from families of 9/11 terrorist attack victims for its ties to Saudi Arabia for its alleged ties to the attacks as examined in FBI reports. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi. Saudi Arabia has denied culpability for 9/11 and distanced the crown prince from the brutal 2018 slaying of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
