9 big takeaways from Tiger Woods’ Hero press conference

For the first time in five months, Tiger Woods faced the media.

Ahead of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, the 15-time major winner sat down with journalists to have his say on the current state of men’s professional golf.

Amid the ever-changing landscape of the game at the top level, Woods addressed some of the biggest issues facing the game – as well as fielding questions about his own future.

It wasn’t a dull, run-of-the-mill press conference, either, with Woods taking aim at LIV Golf, the world rankings and even criticising the PGA Tour’s own player impact program.

Read on for the biggest moments…

• Golf estate announces £30m investment

• Cam Smith blasts “irrelevant” world rankings

“Greg has to go”

Woods wasted no time making his thoughts clear on the leadership of LIV Golf. Echoing the sentiments of Rory McIlroy, he claimed there is only a chance of peace between professional golf’s warring factions if LIV CEO Greg Norman steps aside. He described an “opportunity” if both sides halt legal proceedings, but on whether the tours can coexist: “Not right now.”

Inside the Delaware meeting

The players’ meeting hosted by Woods and McIlroy at the BMW Championship is legendary, and Woods gave some insight into what went on in the room. “We can’t compete dollar for dollar with the PIF,” he said. “But we can talk about better opportunities and how important it is to have a legacy.” He added players are taking a chance on “never, ever” being able to play majors again.

PIP “not perfect”

Despite playing just nine competitive rounds of golf in two years, Woods has won the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program both seasons. Despite pocketing vast bonuses, the 15-time major winner admitted the system is “not perfect” and predicted it will be altered going forward. He pointed out the system is designed to reward the players who drive engagement with the tour.

OWGR “flawed”

Tiger took aim at the world rankings system amid heavy criticism from players on various tours. He highlighted the DP World Tour Championship, which got less points than the RSM Classic. “Somehow we’ve got to come up with a better system,” he said. “It has been changed in the past and I’m sure this will be changed hopefully soon.”

PGA Tour finances

A big bombshell came when Woods revealed the PGA Tour had taken out an “enormous loan” during Covid-19. He revealed the tour could only have survived for one more year if the pandemic had continued, and shot down suggestions Phil Mickelson is owed an apology after he was ostracised from the game. The loan “worked and paid off in our benefit,” he added.

• PGA Tour loses venue to LIV Golf

• Rahm and Thomas sign up for TGL

“Disregard and disrespect”

Back to LIV, Woods accused players who have jumped ship to LIV of showing “disregard and disrespect” towards the PGA Tour. “There’s a lot of animosity,” he added, and claimed “no-one knows what their endgame is”.

Praise for McIlroy

It’s no surprise Woods was effusive in his praise of McIlroy, his ally in defence of the tour and now his business partner thanks to their TMRW Sports venture. He hailed the four-time major champion as a “true leader”.

Health prospects

“I can hit golf balls. The walking just hurts,” he said, elaborating on the plantar fasciitis which forced him to withdraw from his own event. Woods also revealed he has had two more operations on his injured leg this year.

Future plans

Despite acknowledging some improvements in his physical condition, it’s unlikely we’ll see much more of Woods than we did in 2022. “The goal is to play the major championships and maybe one or two more,” he said when asked what next year’s schedule might look like. “Physically that’s all I can do. I don’t have much left in this leg.” But he still hopes to contend, and shot down any suggestion of giving up, although he’s unsure whether he’ll make it back to St Andrews.

It was later clarified that Tiger Woods had given incorrect information when he said the tour had taken out a loan during the Covid-19 pandemic.