Being Tiger Woods apparently isn’t as valuable as it used to be.
A European PGA Tour event head said Thursday that Woods was “not worth” his $3 million appearance fee on the same day Tiger announced he will make his U.S. PGA Tour debut in two weeks at California’s Torrey Pines golf course, according to Bloomberg.
Qatar Golf Association president Hassan al Nuaimi said it didn’t make sense considering the prize money for his event, the Qatar Masters, is less than Woods’ asking price.
“Tiger Woods demands $3 million just for an appearance if he were to compete in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which is not worth paying for a tournament of $2.5 million prize money,” al Nuaimi told Doha News (via Golf Channel).
Wood’s agent Mark Steinberg told Bloomberg that Tiger was “never contemplating Qatar.” Woods is playing in next week’s HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi and was invited to play at the Qatar Masters for the first time. Appearance fees are banned in the U.S., but allowed at European Tour events.
The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines runs Jan. 24-27, while the Qatar event goes from Jan. 23-26.
The Qatar quotes come just one month after a resort owner at the Australian PGA said he didn’t want Woods at his event because he’s “an emotional wreck” and “not a good example for kids.”