(Reuters) – Tiger Woods said LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman must step down from his post for the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed circuit to end their bitter, simmering feud that has divided the golf world.
LIV Golf has attracted some of the U.S.-based PGA Tour’s top players since its launch earlier this year, prompting the PGA Tour to suspend the defectors.
LIV has filed a lawsuit accusing the PGA Tour of antitrust violations and the PGA Tour filed a counterclaim.
Australian Norman said in September that he was no longer prepared to negotiate with the PGA Tour, saying it was trying to “destroy” LIV Golf.
Asked ahead of the Hero World Challenge whether he believed the two organisations could coexist, Woods told reporters “not right now.
“Not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the (PGA) Tour itself,” said Woods. “Greg’s got to leave and then we can eventually, hopefully, have a stay between the two lawsuits and figure something out.
“But why would you change anything if you’ve got a lawsuit against you? They sued us first.”
Earlier this month world number one Rory McIlroy called for Norman to step down from his post, saying golf’s tours needed an “adult in the room.”
“I don’t know what their end game is,” said Woods. “It might be just being an official member of the golf ecosystem and being recognised with World Ranking Points.
“They’ve spent probably close to $2 billion this year. Who’s to say they can’t spend $4 or $5 billion next year? You know, we just don’t know. It’s an endless pit of money,” added Woods, who will skip this week’s Albany Golf Course event in the Bahamas with a foot injury that makes it difficult for him to walk.
The 15-times major winner has not competed since missing the cut at the British Open in July.
“I can hit whatever shot you want, I just can’t walk,” he said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
