Tiger Woods Reportedly Turned Down Millions of Dollars To Play in Saudi Arabia
In just two weeks, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will battle it out in Las Vegas in a winner-take-all golf match worth $9 million.
But Woods reportedly turned down an offer of $3.25 million for simply participating in a European Tour event sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government.
This news comes courtesy of The Telegraph, which reported the 14-time major winner could have received the single biggest overseas paycheck of his career had he chosen to play in the Saudi International, set to begin Jan. 31, 2019.
Woods has made millions of dollars throughout his career not just from winning tournaments but also from traveling the globe and playing in golf events in untraditional locations.
He’s done this in exchange for appearance fees, but Saudi Arabia is apparently off limits.
There’s been no word from Woods’ camp as to why he turned down the offer, but it could be related to the political situation in the country and the recent death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Saudi International falls on the same weekend as the Waste Management Phoenix Open, an event Woods usually skips. He’s played there only once in the last 16 years.
On the other hand, the tournament the week before the Saudi International is the Farmers Insurance Open, and that is one that Woods does usually participate in.
The Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego was the first event Woods competed in this year, and it’s one he’s participated in six times since 2011.
In order to play there and in Saudi Arabia, Woods would have to travel nearly 9,000 miles and jump 11 time zones with only three days between the events.
While Woods has said no to the tournament, other big-name golfers have accepted the invitation to play there.
Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are among the names scheduled to tee off there, although they committed way back in April. They could choose to withdraw.
Keith Pelley, the head of the European Tour, said he will continue to monitor the situation in Saudi Arabia.
“I’ll be very, very clear,” Pelley said. “Saudi International is on our schedule and we’ll continue to monitor just like we would do with every other country. We have heard some of the criticism of the region. Obviously freedom of speech is far more available now based on social media. We’ve listened and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
Woods isn’t the first high-profile athlete to decline an invitation to compete in Saudi Arabia. Roger Federer did the same when offered the chance to play in an exhibition match in Jeddah in December.
But not everyone is feeling the pressure to say no to going to Saudi Arabia in exchange for money.
Last week, Saudi Arabia hosted a WWE pay-per-view event despite a public outcry over the wrestling promotion.
As part of a 10-year pact between WWE and the kingdom, Forbes estimates that WWE will pull in between $40 and $50 million in 2018 alone for doing business with the country.
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