[Golf Topic] Woods "Will I Join the Premier Golf League?"

Tiger Woods is holding a press conference one day before the opening of the Genesis Invitational. Pacific Palisades, California, USA = Getty Images / Photo by Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○... "Fact-checking in progress."

The "resurrected golf emperor" Tiger Woods (USA) revealed at a press conference held a day before the opening of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational (total prize money $9.3 million) on the 12th (Korean time) that he had "received an offer to participate in the Premier Golf League (PGL)." The PGL is a new golf tour set to launch in 2022. It is known to be funded by Wall Street investment banks in New York, with Las Vegas sports gambling companies also expressing investment interest.

The total prize money is $240 million (2.831 trillion KRW) across 18 tournaments. Although this is about half of the current PGA Tour's total prize money of $400 million, the number of tournaments is fewer, meaning the prize money per event is higher. Unlike the PGA Tour, which features 150 players, only 48 players will compete without a cut. It is truly a "selection and concentration" approach. The winner's prize reaches a staggering $5 million (590 million KRW), aiming to attract only the world's top 48 players with massive earnings.

PGL officials have been actively recruiting, playing rounds with veteran Phil Mickelson (USA) during the European Tour's Saudi International Pro-Am, which ended in Saudi Arabia on the 2nd. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) has already stated he will "not participate," so the success or failure ultimately depends on Woods. Woods added, "We are carefully investigating with the team whether PGL is a realistic plan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.