Tiger Woods, in his press conference after the second round of the Hero World Challenge, was asked about the recent rumors regarding big names joining LIV Golf to which he answered that it would surprise him if they did so. Moreover, as per recent reports, Jon Rahm is reportedly in talks of switching tours. Woods is playing at the Hero World Challenge for the first time after being appointed as the sixth player director on the PGA Tour policy board.
Other than the pressure of the game, there are also concerns regarding the framework to be settled by the end of the year. Amid all this, Woods, when asked about his feelings regarding players joining the Greg Norman-backed league, expressed his bewilderment at that happening anytime soon.
Woods Reflects on Players Leaving PGA Tour for LIV Golf
Tiger Woods has always been vocal about his support for the PGA Tour. His stance on LIV Golf and players joining it has been one of betrayal and disappointment. A few weeks ago, when his new tech-based league was in preparation to launch in January, he admitted that he never understood the rules or format of the league. So, in the press conference after the second round in Albany, he expressed that with all that has happened in the last few weeks, anything could happen, and it would definitely be a surprise if any big shot names were to join the Saudi-funded league.
“I don’t – hypothetically would it surprise me? Yes, but there’s so many different things that have happened in the last…48 hours but also in the last few weeks”, he said after finishing at 70 in the Hero World Challenge.
Woods currently sits at T15 on the Albany leaderboard. He also talked about the fact that the deadline for the framework agreement was nearing, and it was of utmost importance that he and the other decision-makers on the board were closely involved with the final agreement.
“Well, nothing has really surprised me other than the fact that there’s so many different things that have happened so fast”. Woods assures that the management is working 24 hours a day to finalize everything.
Apart from Woods, Phil Mickelson was dragged into the player-shifting matter by Alan Shipnuck, which resulted in an online battle between the two, with Mickelson denying the fact that he stated that Jon Rahm was a “done deal” for LIV Golf.
In the same interview, Woods also talked about his second round performance in the game, which was slightly better than his previous day’s rusty performance.
Tiger Woods Satisfied with Round Two After a Disappointing Round One
Woods had a rusty first round, in which he scored three over 75. He even had a triple bogey on hole 15. But moving forward to the next round, he had a better graph of performance. His score was 2-under 70. He carded five birdies and had three drop shots. He seemed satisfied with his performance going forward.
“It was better than yesterday, for sure…I’ve been more committed than I was yesterday”. After round one, Woods was doubting his commitment to the game, which has a clear picture for him now.
“I made a few mistakes and overall the round was better, for sure. The start was better, the middle part of the round was better. I missed a couple putts there towards the end I thought would have kept the round going and unfortunately it kind of stalled out a little bit.”
Further, he talks about how he’s thankful to play again after a hiatus of nine months. His ankle doesn’t hurt more. Last time he played in April at the Masters, he had to withdraw in the third round due to a worsened leg situation. Later, he underwent subtalar fusion surgery. Seemingly, all those concerns have subsided, and he is better now.
