FLORIDA (AFP) — Tiger Woods says he never saw purported prepared comments for him to deliver last year at a players meeting, documents involved in a federal lawsuit.
Golf Digest and Golf Channel reported on Monday that the comments aimed at Woods were part of 357 pages of emails and documents in a lawsuit filed in the 15th Judicial District in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Among the exhibits were scripted Woods supposedly from the PGA Tour meant for the 15-time major winner to repeat at a players meeting at the 2022 Travelers Championship, only weeks after LIV Golf’s debut event in London.
“In response to the talking points memo released this weekend, I have never seen this document until today, and I did not attend the players meeting for which it was prepared at the 2022 Travelers,” Woods tweeted late on Sunday.
Remarks purportedly prepared for Woods to say at the players meeting included saying PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was “the right guy for this war, he’s a fighter” and players needed to “join the fight” and “do what I did” in rejecting overtures from the Saudi backers of LIV Golf.
The meeting came at a time when the PGA Tour was concerned about the number of players jumping to LIV for record $25 million purses, guaranteed deals and 54-hole events.
Woods withdrew from the Masters after aggravating a foot injury and in April underwent fusion surgery on his right leg. He has given no timetable for a return.
Woods rejection of the remarks came a month after Monahan’s shock announcement the PGA Tour had made a merger deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund to end the battle between the PGA and the upstarts, wiping out lawsuits that would have revealed business details about both groups.
There has been no comment from Woods, 47, regarding the LIV-PGA merger deal.
According to Golf Digest, the court filings also included details of a dire financial situation for the DP World Tour that pushed the PGA to make a deal with LIV that included the DP World Tour, plus a proposed future schedule and alliance details and scripted comments meant for board members to deliver.
