LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman has confirmed Tiger Woods couldn't be persuaded to join the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series even with a payment of $700 million to $800 million.
Woods, whose net worth is believed to be at least $1 billion, turned down the offer after voicing his criticism of LIV Golf at the British Open last month.
The series is financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, and has signed players such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
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Reports about the amount of money offered to Woods' previously began to circulate as the event kicked off, when Norman told the Washington Post the offer was 'mind-blowingly enormous' and was 'about high nine digits'.
During an appearance on Fox News with Tucker Carlson on Monday, Norman confirmed the offer was in the region of $700m to $800m.
He commented: "That number was out there before I became CEO. So that number has been out there, yes. And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and of course you have to look at the best of the best. So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. So, yes, that number was somewhere in that neighbourhood."
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Woods previously made clear he 'disagree[s] with players' decisions to join LIV Golf, saying during the British Open: "I think that what they've done is they've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position... Some of these players may not ever get a chance to play in major championships. That is a possibility. We don't know that for sure yet. It's up to all the major championship bodies to make that determination."
Norman told Carlson he '[doesn't] know' why the tour caused such a big uproar, but added: "I really don’t care."
He continued: “I just love the game so much and I want to grow the game of golf and we at LIV see that opportunity not just for the men but for the women.”
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Johnson, who signed to LIV Golf this year, previously distanced himself from the series and claimed he was 'fully committed to the PGA Tour', only to then resign his PGA Tour membership.
He signed to LIV Golf for a reported $150m, explaining: "I don't want to play for the rest of my life, this gives me an opportunity to do what I want to do."
The LIV Golf Invitational is set to return in the US next month after the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour.
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Emily Brown