Woods turns down multi-million offer to play in Saudi
Tiger Woods has turned down at least £2.5m (R46.6m) to play in the European Tour’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia next year.
Woods has travelled in the past to such countries as China and the United Arab Emirates. Yet it is understood he deemed Saudi Arabia to be an excursion too far, despite the money apparently dwarfing anything he has received before for an official overseas tournament.
Sources says he was approached in the summer, after his dramatic competitive resurrection at the Open, where he led going into the last nine before finishing sixth, and then at the US PGA Championship, where he finished second.
Saudi Arabia had already signed up Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Paul Casey to play in the government-sponsored event, which has become even more controversial since last month’s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabia embassy in Istanbul.
Roger Federer snubbed a $1m (R14.2m) offer to play in an exhibition in Jeddah on December 22.
It is not known if the Woods’s refusal was because of the political situation or if it is because he has decided to limit longhaul travel after his many back complaints.