Tiger Woods' refusal to take part in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series might have cost him a mammoth deal of $700 to $800 million, according to reports. Greg Norman, LIV CEO, confirmed the news in an interview that aired on Monday night, August 1.

Norman, who made an appearance on an episode of 'Tucker Carlson Tonight', said LIV Golf approached Woods before he became the new circuit's CEO and commissioner. That number was out there before I became CEO. Look, Tiger is a needle mover, right? So, of course you've got to look at the best of the best. They had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. That number is somewhere in that neighborhood.

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According to DailyMail, the series, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, has caused a major civil war in the sport with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour after it poached some of the sport's biggest stars with lump sum deals. A number of big-name stars have already joined the controversial league, including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Phil Mickelson. However, the series has been met with criticism from golf fans around the world.

According to a report by ABC, 46-year-old Woods has been among the most outspoken supporters of the PGA Tour during its ongoing battle with LIV Golf for the best players in the world. At the Open Championship in St Andrews in June, Woods said he supported the Royal & Ancient's decision not to invite Norman, a two-time winner of the event, to its 150th celebration. Woods also mentioned at the time that he is loyal to the PGA Tour and has no interest in joining LIV. He said, “The players who have chosen to go to LIV and play there, I disagree with it. I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”

Woods further said, I know what the PGA Tour stands for, what it has given us: the ability to chase after our careers, the trophies we play for and to earn what we get and the history that has been part of this game. I know Greg tried to do what he is doing now back in the early Nineties. It didn't work then and he is trying to make it work now. I still don't see how that is in the game's best interests. All the governing bodies, the PGA Tour, the European Tour, all the majors — we all see it differently to Greg.