Tiger Woods’ incredibly hypocritical response when asked about Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf in 2022

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Tiger Woods offered a supremely hypocritical answer back in 2022, when he was asked about Phil Mickelson’s move to LIV Golf.

Mickelson left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in June 2022, while Woods turned down an offer in the ‘high nine figures’, according to Greg Norman.

Interestingly, Mickelson and Woods are both being touted as potential Ryder Cup captains for the 2027 edition at Adare Manor in Ireland.

While Woods and Mickelson are unlikely to win another major, they are unquestionably two of the greatest players in the history of the game.

Woods has 82 PGA Tour wins including 15 major championships to his name, while Mickelson has won 45 Tour wins including six majors.

Back in 2022, the two players made completely contrasting decisions regarding their futures, with Mickelson joining LIV and Woods staying put on the PGA Tour.

Tiger Woods’ response when asked about Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf

Woods addressed the golfing media in May 2022, just before Mickelson officially made his move to LIV Golf.

When asked specifically about the 45-time PGA Tour winner’s impending move to LIV, Woods’ response was a strange one.

He said: “He (Mickelson) has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going.

“I have my viewpoint, how I see the game of golf. I’ve supported the Tour, and my foundation has run events on the Tour for a number of years.

“I just think that what Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) have done in starting the Tour, breaking away from the PGA of America, and creating our tour in 1968… I just think there’s a legacy to that.“

So, let me get this right. It was just fine for Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to break away from the PGA of America and form a new Tour, but it’s not okay for Mickelson, Greg Norman and co to have done the same thing with LIV?

There is obviously one big difference, and that’s Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, but Woods didn’t even mention that in his comments.

LIV Golf has actually been very good for the PGA Tour

Whatever their naysayers claim, LIV Golf has forced the PGA Tour into taking action.

There has never been a more lucrative time in history to be a PGA Tour player than right now.

Would the PGA Tour purses have exploded like they have without LIV? Obviously not.

Would Signature Events even be a thing now without LIV? Again, the answer to that question is probably no.

While it’s fair for golf fans to resent everything the LIV ownership stands for, the golf league as a standalone competitive platform has definitely been good for the PGA Tour.

Nothing improves without competition, and despite his thinly-veiled, and quite frankly tone deaf criticism of Mickelson, Woods surely understands that.