Tiger Woods on Possible Peace Talks with LIV Golf: ‘I think Greg has to go’

There are a few steps that need to happen before Tiger Woods can envision any sort of peace talks between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

To Woods, the first one is obvious.

“I think Greg has to go,” he said Tuesday.

Speaking ahead of the Hero World Challenge, Woods repeatedly echoed calls to have Greg Norman removed as commissioner and CEO of LIV Golf. Norman’s front-facing position in the rival tour’s organization has been rumored about for months, with a report surfacing last month that LIV was considering replacing Norman with former TaylorMade executive Mark King. LIV has denied that report, but earlier this month in Dubai Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm stated publicly that Norman should be pushed out.

Woods on Tuesday called for a leadership change on seven different occasions, both directly and indirectly.

If Norman is removed, Woods said, then “there’s an opportunity out there” for the two warring sides to sit down and talk.

“I think it has to start with leadership on their side,” he said. “Understanding that what is happening right now is not in 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. But 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?”

But Norman is only one part of the equation.

LIV has sued the PGA Tour (and the Tour has countersued), with the trial set for January 2024. Both sides would need to agree to postpone the case for any sort of resolution.

That’s why Woods didn’t see a path for the two tours to coexist in this current environment. He said that the “window is closing” with the majors needing to determine soon their qualification criteria for next year’s event.

“As it is, not right now, not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity toward the tour itself. I don’t see that happening,” Woods said. “As Rory said, and I said it as well, 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.”