Lee Westwood Says He's Signed an NDA on Subject of Saudi Golf League

Lee Westwood's and Phil Mickelson's press conferences ahead of the Saudi International hint at the scope and potential impact of Greg Norman's breakaway league.

Both Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood did their best to dance around questions concerning their interest in a proposed golf league headed by Greg Norman ahead of the PIF Saudi International on Wednesday, with Westwood disclosing he had signed a non-disclosure agreement on the subject but nonetheless offering some views.

Mickelson, Westwood and defending champion Dustin Johnson are among the big names believed to have been targeted by LIV Golf Investments, the entity that Norman, the former No. 1 golfer, now heads as CEO. In October, Norman was also announced as commissioner of the to-be-named new league.

The proposed circuit is causing angst at the PGA Tour and DP World Tour (formerly European) because playing the new league would make it problematic for players to be able to compete on the existing tours. The (London) Telegraph reported Tuesday that Ian Poulter has been offered between $20- and $30-million to join.

“I think everybody is looking at it and seeing parts of it that can really help and benefit their situation, their life, their career, and then there's parts of it that they're probably concerned with,’’ said Mickelson, 51, who is playing in the Saudi tournament for the third straight year. “I'm appreciative of the fact that there is competition, and that leverage has allowed for a much better environment on the PGA Tour, meaning we would not have an incentive program like the PIP (Player Incentive Program) for the top players without this type of competition.

"We would not have the increase in the FedEx Cup money. We would not have the increase in The Players Championship to $20 million this year if it wasn't for this threat. It was projected to get there in a couple years. To have a season-long payout for the top 10 guys on the FedEx Cup list came about last year for the first time at $10 million, it's going to double to $20 million, I think, and that wouldn't be around."

Mickelson’s reference to the PIP was a new plan put in place last year to reward players for their social engagement and off-the-course popularity. A pot of $40 million was to be paid out among the top 10 players. Although the PGA Tour has not disclosed the ranking, Mickelson himself said he won the honor and its $8-million first prize.

He also referenced the increase in FedEx Cup bonus pool money, with the winner this year getting $18 million, up from $15 million. And then there was the regular-season payout for top places in the standings, an increase from $10 million to $20 million for the top-10 finishers.

All of those things, Mickelson said, have been enhanced because of Norman’s proposed league (as well as talk of another circuit called the Premier Golf League), which is said to be offering guaranteed payouts in addition to weekly $20 million purses that every player would be paid because there is no cut.

Mickelson, the reigning PGA Championship winner and oldest at age 50 to ever win a major, is coming off consecutive missed cuts on the PGA Tour. He finished third at the Saudi tournament two years ago.

He also used the opportunity to question the PGA Tour system that requires releases in order to play conflicting events. The PGA Tour controls a player’s media rights, hence the restrictions. Mickelson and all the players from both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour were required to, in essence, get permission from their respective tours to play this week.

“I'm appreciative of the competition, and what my hopes are is that the biggest thing, which are media rights and the way the players have been used to for so long, I hope that that changes through the competitive opportunity, as well,’’ he said.

Westwood, 48, a 25-time winner on the European Tour who has turned down an opportunity to captain the European Ryder Cup team in 2023, disclosed during a media session prior to the tournament that he had signed an NDA that keeps him from discussing the league. That almost assuredly means he’s been made some sort of an offer, although others such as agents who have been briefed on the various proposals of the league have also signed such agreements.

“I don't know whether I want to answer questions on that,’’ he said. "I've signed an NDA.’’

Pressed to answer generally on the topic of the team aspect that has been presented as one of the facets of Norman's league, Westwood noted that playing 72-hole stroke play events makes him less likely to be interested in watching them when he is not competing.

“The weeks and days that I would watch, I would turn on for the Ryder Cup if I wasn't in it. I would turn on for the Match Play. I think the first day at the Dell Match Play when you've got 32 matches going is one of the most exciting days viewing all year really. I used to love watching the World Match Play at Wentworth. I think team golf every now and again is a good thing. People seem to enjoy watching it.

“I think the team aspect is exciting. It's a little bit more volatile than week-in, week-out 72-hole stroke play.

“I think people like to pick teams rather than individual now and then. It's different, and I think golf does need different. I think it's pretty similar all over the world wherever you play, they just seem to stick to the 72 holes.’’

Among the various ideas floated for the new league, often referred to as the Super Golf League, are 54-hole, no-cut events with a team element that would see four-man teams competing for a team title each week in addition to the individual competition.

“I think golf has got to move with the times and become more heat-of-the-moment, volatile and impactful right from the word go," Westwood said. “Certainly, if you do it like the team aspect, there's more action happening in more different places.’’

Mickelson, when asked if he had been made an offer to join the new league said: “I think every player has been contacted. I don’t think there’s a player that hasn’t been."

He added: “It's a softer way of saying, of answering your question directly. I'm just saying that pretty much every player that is in the top 100 I would say in the world ranking has been contacted at some point, absolutely."

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