Tiger Woods turned down $800m offer from Saudi Arabia to join LIV Golf, Greg Norman confirms

Tiger Woods turned down a fee in the region of $800m to turn his back on the PGA Tour and join the controversial LIV Golf, the series’ CEO Greg Norman has confirmed.

LIV Golf, financed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, has created an enormous scission in golf since it began poaching players from the PGA Tour by making huge payments to competitors. Players who have already signed up include Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

Henrik Stenson was also stripped of Europe’s Ryder Cup captaincy for agreeing to join the series, and golfers who have accepted offers from Liv Golf have been roundly criticised by fellow players, pundits and fans.

46-year-old Woods may have only won one major since 2008 but he remains the most recognisable name in the sport and the Saudi PIF was desperate to legitimise its series in the eyes of the public by securing his signature.

Now, Norman has confirmed the staggering figure Woods turned down.

‘That number [$800m] was out there before I became CEO,’ Norman told far-right commentator Tucker Carlson in a Fox interview. ‘So that number has been out there, yes.’

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‘And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and of course you have to look at the best of the best. So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. So, yes, that number was somewhere in that neighbourhood.’

When asked why fans had responded to LIV Golf with such negativity, Norman was bemused.

‘I don’t know… I really don’t care,’ Norman replied. ‘I just love the game so much and I want to grow the