It seems that PGA Tour icon Tiger Woods is a bit envious of certain destinations on the LIV Golf schedule.
Tiger Woods is one of the greatest and most famous players in PGA Tour history. The golf legend took the sport to new heights and expanded its reach and fan base in ways no other athlete ever has. However, even at 47 years old and well past his prime, he is still extremely valuable to the PGA.
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Beyond his legion of supporters that he brings to any event he is involved in, Tiger Woods is one of several stars of the sports that chose to turn away advances from rival league LIV Golf and stay loyal to the PGA Tour. If the player that has won 15 majors had taken his talents and name value to LIV Golf, it could have been a killer blow to the legendary tour and establish the Saudi Arabia-backed upstart as a legitimate force in the sport.
Fortunately for the PGA, Tiger Woods has remained faithful to the tour that made him a superstar and has even taken on the role of ambassador and leader in rallying other players to also stay devoted to the PGA. However, despite his public rebukes of LIV Golf, that does mean he isn’t intrigued by certain elements of it.
Tiger Woods major wins: 15
LIV has been able to sign golf stars like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Smith with massive signing bonuses and tournament winnings. However, Tiger Woods is one of the few players in the sport where money has little appeal. However, the limited schedule and exotic locales do seem to interest him.
Late last week, LIV Golf star Talor Gooch appeared on the “Fore the People” podcast and revealed an interesting conversation he had with Woods while the two were warming up for a round at the 2023 Masters earlier this month.
“So I have kind of a funny story. At Augusta, one of the mornings I was warming up, Tiger was right next to me warming up. And he was like, ‘Man, you’re with Bubba [Watson’s] team now, right?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘You all are going to Adelaide, [Australia] right?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘Man, they got some great golf there.’”
– Talor Gooch
While Tiger Woods is unlikely to join the LIV roster, it is very interesting that he seems to be a bit envious of the places visited on their schedule. For a player with major limitations after several surgeries following a car crash a couple of years ago, there are elements of the LIV format that do make a lot of sense for him at this point in his career.