ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Tiger Woods wouldn’t have invited Greg Norman to the 150th playing of the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
The 15-time major champion and three-time Champion Golfer of the Year agreed with the R&A’s decision to reach out to Norman, who is heading the Saudi Arabia-backed rival league called LIV Golf, to tell him his presence at the Celebration on Champions on Monday and the Champions’ Dinner on Tuesday was not welcomed. Norman did not journey to this seaside village.
“Greg has done some things that I don’t think (are) in the best interest of our game, and we’re coming back to probably the most historic and traditional place in our sport,” Woods said Tuesday after a practice round. “I believe it’s the right thing.
“I know what the PGA Tour stands for and what we have done and what the Tour has given us, the ability to chase after our careers and to earn what we get and the trophies we have been able to play for and the history that has been a part of this game. I know Greg tried to do this back in the early ’90s. It didn’t work then, and he’s trying to make it work now.
“I still don’t see how that’s in the best interests of the game.”
LIV Golf has disrupted the golf world order just two events into its existence. With exorbitant signing bonuses – some as high as $200 million – and $25 million purses, LIV Golf has lured away some big names and players from the PGA Tour – Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and many others.
LIV Golf will contest eight tournaments this year featuring team play, 54 holes, no cuts and shotgun starts.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan indefinitely banned players who jumped ship to LIV Golf from the Tour. This has led the Justice Department to investigate the PGA Tour for anti-competitive behavior and possible conspiracy to rig the Official World Golf Rankings against LIV Golf in its dealings with the league.
“About the players who have chosen to go to LIV, I disagree with it,” Woods said. “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position. Some players have never got a chance to even experience it. They’ve gone right from the amateur ranks right into that organization and never really got a chance to play out here and what it feels like to play a Tour schedule or to play in some big events.
“And who knows what’s going to happen in the near future with world…
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