'Natural evolution': Tiger Woods' brutal truth about golf's future
Tiger Woods confirmed that he has been approached by the Premier Golf League — a proposed golf league that would compete with both the PGA Tour and European Tour — and that he and his team are looking into it.
The idea for the league has garnered mixed reviews from those in the golf world in recent weeks. While Woods didn’t say he was interested in participating, he didn’t shut that idea down, either.
'SHOT OF THE YEAR’: Golf world erupts over insane Phil Mickelson moment
WOW: Female fan flashes golf star in bizarre Double D-straction
“My team's been aware of it and we've delved into the details of it and are trying to figure it out just like everyone else,” Woods said on Tuesday ahead of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Southern California, via ESPN.
“We've been down this road before with World Golf Championships and other events being started. There's a lot of information that we're still looking at and whether it's reality or not, but just like everybody else, we're looking into it.”
The idea for the Premier Golf League was announced last month by the World Golf Group. It wants to create a tour where 48 players compete in an 18-tournament schedule with $10 million purses at each 54-hole event, which would not have a cut.
The league, which hopes to launch in either 2022 or 2023, would also have individual and team-league formats.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made it clear last month that he is not a fan of the new proposed tour. He attacked the funding behind it, hinting that it has “Saudi interests” as a potential source of income, and that it is being specifically designed to conflict with PGA Tour events and not the four major championships — The Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open Championship — all of which are run by other entities.
“If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,” Monahan said in a letter to golfers last month.
Koepka and Johnson also approached
Woods isn’t the only top golfer in the world who has been approached about this idea. Both Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson said they have had conversations about it, and Ernie Els said he “loves” the idea.
Whether the league comes to fruition or not, Woods said he understands the logic behind wanting to start it. Having competitive fields that feature all of the top-ranked players in the world isn’t something regularly seen on the PGA Tour each week.
“I think just like all events, you're trying to get the top players to play more collectively,” Woods said, via ESPN.
"It's one of the reasons why we instituted the World Golf Championships, because we were only getting [the top players] together five times a year, the four majors and The Players, and we wanted to showcase the top players on more than just those occasions.
“So this is a natural evolution, whether or not things like this are going to happen, but ideas like this are going to happen going forward, whether it's now or any other time in the future.”
Ryan Young - Yahoo Sport US
