Tiger Woods has turned down a $700-$800 million LIV series bid. This was confirmed by Greg Norman, boss of the controversial tour. “That number was there before I became CEO,” Norman said on Fox News. So far, there has been talk of a “high nine-digit amount” in the event of a change to the tour supported by Saudi Arabia.
However, Woods had already made a clear commitment to the PGA Tour in May and spoke of a “legacy” that he believes has a lot to offer. The 46-year-old had recently been critical of the “renegade” players. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and the two-time German major champion Martin Kaymer have all changed. The renegades were banned from PGA tournaments.
Woods also supported the British Open organizers’ decision last month not to invite two-time champion Norman to the 150-year celebration. “Greg has done some things that I don’t think are in the best interest of our game,” said the 46-year-old.
Increased prize money
The PGA Tour, on the other hand, is paying out record prize money in the 2022/23 season in response to the new competition from the controversial LIV golf series. The official tournaments award prizes totaling $415 million. This emerges from the tour calendar published on Monday. In the previous year it was still 360 million dollars. In addition, there are still 145 million in bonus payments, including 75 million for the “FedEx Cup Playoffs”, the end of the season.
The PGA significantly increased the prize money in the eight invitational tournaments, and the Players Championship now has $25 million to earn – previously the highest-paying tournament in the series at $20 million.
These measures are a clear response to LIV’s bounty, which thanks to its financial strength, which can be traced back to Saudi funds, has signed numerous well-known players on the scene. Among them are Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and two-time German Major Champion Martin Kaymer. The renegades were also banned from PGA tournaments.
The LIV opening tournament in London was endowed with 25 million dollars. All in all, the LIV Tour is attracting at its eight tournaments this year with a total prize money of 250 million dollars.
Stenson wins
The conflict between the tournament series now has an impact on the Ryder Cup. Henrik Stenson lost his position as Europe captain for the Ryder Cup 2023 (September 25 to October 1 in Rome) at the end of July after he had given his go-ahead for the tour financed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. It was only in March that the former British Open winner was actually confirmed as the captain for the golf comparison between Europe and the USA.
Now he has triumphed on the LIV series for the first time, winning millions of dollars in prize money in the process. The 46-year-old Swede won the invitation tournament in Bedminster (New Jersey) ahead of the Americans Matthew Wolff and Dustin Johnson. Martin Kaymer came in twelfth place and earned almost half a million dollars.
Henrik Stenson poses with the trophy after his triumph at Bedminster.
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Image: dpa
“I think we can agree that I played like a captain,” Stenson said after his success at Trump National Golf Club: “It’s been an eventful ten days and I’m very proud that I managed to I was able to concentrate so well.” He received four million dollars for winning the individual classification, plus $375,000 for second place in the team.
Human rights activists accuse organizers and players of participating in Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing”. The third of a total of eight tournaments was again accompanied by criticism from the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York. Former North American President Donald Trump, on the other hand, praised the series and teed off his seat at the tournament himself.
A new captain has now been named for the European team at the Ryder Cup 2023. Barely two weeks after Stenson was ousted, English golf pro Luke Donald was named. “I’m incredibly proud to be named European Ryder Cup Captain. Leading a team of like-minded people and being an ambassador for an entire continent is truly one of the greatest honors a golfer can have,” Donald said, according to the statement. “I feel very privileged to have been given this responsibility and I do not take it lightly.”
Europe’s Ryder Cup director Guy Kinnings was very pleased with Donald’s choice. “Luke is a former world number one who has an excellent Ryder Cup record and therefore undoubtedly has what it takes to be a successful European captain.” Donald was Number one in the golf world for 56 weeks. He played in the Ryder Cup four times and won the title four times with the Europeans.
