Exclusive | LIV Golf-PGA tour issue was not handled well, says Tiger Woods

Ahead of this week's Hero Cup Challenge, Tiger Woods announced his withdrawal from the competition citing a foot injury, that is "making it difficult to walk." His pulling out from the charity tournament, in the Bahamas, has left organisers in a tough spot as the veteran golfer hadn't been seen in action after appearing at St Andrew's for The Open Championship early this year.

During an exclusive interaction with WION's Sports Editor Digvijay Singh Deo, Woods said that he "wanted to play the hero world challenge but pushed myself too hard".

The legendary golfer said, "Was playing using a cart and the scores were good but the moment I started to walk the golf course the problems started. Frustrating, as my game was good enough to compete against the guys but my body isn't ready right now."

Woods also commented on the ongoing LIV Golf vs PGA Tour tussle, which continues to make the headlines in 2022. "The LIV golf PGA tour issue was not handled well. There is nothing wrong in having competition and adding to the ecosystem of golf," Woods told WION, further stating that "it has become pretty ugly and it is not good for the game of golf."

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Woods further added, "The onus is now on the majors to set their qualifying criteria. We want the best players in golf to play against each other but at the moment we can't identify that. The world rankings system is flawed and at the moment there are many moving pieces." "We will come to a resolution some way or another and hopefully it is a positive one for all parties involved," the veteran concluded.

Earlier, on Tuesday (November 29), Woods didn't mince his words while talking about LIV CEO Greg Norman during apress conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge.

“As Rory said, I think 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. I see that there’s an opportunity out there if both organisations put a stay on their litigation but that’s the problem, they’ve got to put a stay on it."

“I think it has to start with leadership on their side. Understanding that what is happening right now is not the best fit or future for the whole game of golf. Now, what is the best way for our game to grow? It’s not this way. You need to have the two bodies come together. If one side has so much animosity, someone trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?", Woods pointed out.

While the LIV Golf-PGA Tour tussle is far from over, looks like it has also severely hit the equation between Woods and Norman. At present, the former remains firm on his stance that both LIV Golf and PGA Tour cannot exist simultaneously.

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