Tiger Woods has questioned the desire of many of the players who have decided to join the LIV Golf Series.
The 15-time major champion is currently preparing to play his third tournament of 2022 after sufficiently recovering from the injuries that he sustained in a car crash last year.
Woods will be participating in the 150th Open Championship, a tournament which he was won three times and has frequently talked up in recent months.
However, the competition comes at a time when the sport has been left divided by the emergence of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Series, which has attracted many members of the PGA Tour.
Former world number one Dustin Johnson, multiple-time major winner Phil Mickelson and fellow American trio Bryson Dechambeau, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka have all signed lucrative contracts to represent the new tour.
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Woods was naturally quizzed on the topic when he held his pre-Open press conference on Tuesday, the sport's legendary figure admitting that he had concerns about some of the younger players who have opted against working their way onto the PGA Tour.
Speaking to reporters, Woods said: "What these players are doing for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practice? What is the incentive to go out there and do it in the dirt? You're just a getting paid a lot of money up and playing a few events and playing 54 holes. They are playing blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are different.
"I just don't see how, out of 54 holes - I can understand 54 holes is almost like a mandate when you get to the Senior Tour. The guys are a little older and a little more banged up.
"But when you are at this young age and some of these kids - and they really are kids who have gone from amateur golf and into that organisation - 72 holes are a part of it. We used to have 36-hole playoffs for major championships. That is how it used to be - 18-hole US Open playoffs.
"I just don't see how that move is positive in the long term for a lot of these players, especially if the LIV organisation doesn't get world-ranking points and the major championships change their criteria for entering events.
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"It would be sad to see some of these young kids never get a chance to experience it and experience what we have gt, a chance to experience and walk these hallowed grounds and play in these championships."
Woods is able to play at the Open and future major tournaments due to his previous accomplishments, but there are question marks over whether the defectors will be eligible in 2023.
Meetings and discussions are due to take place between the relevant parties when it comes to the potential distribution of world ranking points in LIV Golf Series events.
Should a decision be made where ranking points will not be on offer during the remaining events this year and the 14-tournament schedule next year, there would be limited representatives from the LIV Golf Series at the biggest four tournaments throughout the next 12 months.
Darren Plant
