Tiger Woods to meet with PGA Tour players amid LIV Golf expansion: report
Woods was critical of LIV Golf at July's Open Championship
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tiger Woods is reportedly expected to meet with a group of players – including many of the top 20 players in the world – on Tuesday in order to "rally support" around the PGA Tour as LIV Golf continues to make waves.
The meeting, which was first reported by the Fire Pit Collective, will occur at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, where the second FedEx playoff event is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Tiger Woods listens during a press conference following practice for The 150th Open Championship on The Old Course at St Andrews on July 12, 2022 in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
LIV Golf continues to add PGA players to its roster, with reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith reportedly being the latest player to defect to the Saudi-backed circuit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's a meeting to get the top 20 players in the world on the same page on how we can continue to make the PGA Tour the best product in professional golf," a player who was invited to the meeting told ESPN on Monday.
Woods, who reportedly turned down between $700 and $800 million to join the upstart league, was highly critical of LIV Golf and its CEO – Greg Norman – at July’s Open Championship.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Branden Grace, left, and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, right, pose with the trophy after Grace won the Portland Invitational LIV Golf tournament in North Plains, Oregon, Saturday, July 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)
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"Greg has done some things that I don’t think is 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 when discussing why Norman was not invited to the Open Championship festivities. "And I believe it was the right thing."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When asked about the PGA Tour players who decided to leave for the LIV Golf series, Woods took it a step further, saying that those golfers "turned their back" on the tour that has helped them shape their careers.
Tiger Woods walks onto the 18th green during Day Two of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 15, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
"I disagree with it," Woods said when asked about the LIV Tour and those who have joined. "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 had a chance to play out here and what it feels like to play a tour schedule or play in some big events."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships," Woods continued. "That is a possibility. We don't know that for sure yet. It's up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination. But that is a possibility, that some players will never, ever get a chance to play in a major championship, never get a chance to experience this right here, walk down the fairways at Augusta National."
LIV’s next event is scheduled for September 2-4 at The Oaks Golf Course at The International in Boston.