‘We never offered that cash value to Tiger Woods’ – Greg Norman backtracks on $800m LIV Golf offer talk

LIV Golf chief Greg Norman has rowed back on his own claim that Tiger Woods was offered a contract in the region of $800 million.

Despite his fitness issues, 15-time major winner Woods is still the biggest figure in golf.

The Saudi-funded LIV Golf has thrown huge contracts at the likes of Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka as it looks to build a foothold in the game.

The disruption caused has driven a wedge through the game, with the PGA Tour suspending all players who jumped ship.

“That number was out there before I became CEO,” Norman said of Woods. “That number has been out there, yes. Tiger is a needle mover. So course you got to look at the best of the best.

“They originally approached Tiger before I became CEO so yes, that number is somewhere in that neighbourhood.”

With Woods’ position now well known, Norman has shifted stance and said the fee offered to arguably the greatest golfer of all time was not as high as he suggested.

“I just want to make sure for clarification here, the numbers that were thrown out were inclusive of future franchise value.

“And so if you take a look at this number that’s being thrown out there … the generational wealth that this franchise opportunity has for the individual players is incredible.

“That’s how it is. It’s not the cash value. We never offered that cash value to Tiger Woods. That’s the reality of it.”