Norman has to go in name of peace: Woods
Tiger Woods has echoed Rory McIlroy’s call for Greg Norman to quit as LIV Golf CEO to allow a peace settlement to be negotiated in golf’s civil war.
McIlroy and Woods have been the biggest supporters of the established tours in their battle with the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit, but McIlroy recently called for a compromise to be reached between the rival factions.
The world No 1 feels that will be impossible if Norman remains at the helm of LIV Golf and Woods made it clear he feels the same way.
Speaking in the Bahamas ahead of the World Challenge, which Woods hosts, the former
No 1 said: ‘‘There is an opportunity out there if both organisations put a stay on their litigation. That’s the problem.
‘‘There is no willingness to negotiate if you have litigation against you. I think Greg has to go first of all.
‘‘It has to start with leadership on their side, understanding that what is happening right now is not the best future for the whole game of golf.
‘‘You need to have the two bodies come together and if one side has so much animosity, trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?
‘‘There is a window of opportunity for us from both tours to figure this out.
‘‘But I think that window’s closing just because the majors are coming up now and they’re going to have their own criteria, but again that goes back to LIV and their lawsuit. They’re suing us first and we countersued them.
‘‘They have to back off the table, then we’ll back off the table and then we have a place to talk, but their leadership has to change as well.
‘‘If that doesn’t then I think it’s going to continue going down the path that it’s going right now.’’
Asked to sum up an unprecedented year in men’s professional golf, Woods added: ‘‘This whole year is a year we didn’t expect to have happen, for the animosity, the angst and then the players leaving and then the way they showed their disregard or disrespect to the tour that helped them get to that point.
‘‘There’s a lot of things I certainly don’t like about it and there’s certain players that are very up front with it and have declared it and I respect them for that, but there’s also a flipside to that too, that I thought was a little on the tasteless side.’’
Woods had intended to play the World Challenge but withdrew on Wednesday after developing plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
The 15-time major winner has not played competitively since the British Open Championship in July, when he missed the cut in what could prove to be his final Open at St Andrews.
‘‘I had a few setbacks during the year that I was able to play through but this one I can’t,’’ Woods said. ‘‘Only time can heal this one.
‘‘I was walking more and more trying to get my legs ready for this week and I was just making it worse.’’
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