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‘Choke On Their Words’: Lee Westwood Says He Laughs At PGA’s Move

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Joe Roberts Contributor
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Golfer Lee Westwood mocked the new changes announced Wednesday by the Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) Tour in response to LIV Golf.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the Tour’s top players will commit to competing in 20 tournaments, 13 of which will average $20 million purses, ESPN reported.

“I laugh at what the PGA Tour players have come up with,” Westwood told Golf Digest in an interview published Thursday. “It’s just a copy of what LIV is doing. There are a lot of hypocrites out there.”

Westwood, 49, was the World No. 1 in 2010, and one of the first PGA Tour members to leave for the Saudi Arabian-financed LIV Golf Invitational Series, according to ESPN. He has 42 international wins, Yahoo News noted.

Westwood claimed his former league is simply copying the model of LIV, his new one.

“They all say LIV is ‘not competitive.’ They all point at the no-cut aspect of LIV and the short fields,” Westwood told Golf Digest. “Now, funnily enough, they are proposing 20 events that look a lot like LIV. Hopefully, at some point they will all choke on their words. And hopefully, they will be held to account as we were in the early days.”

Westwood went on to criticize the PGA’s alliance with DP World Tour.

“I’m not convinced by the strategic alliance because I’ve seen how the PGA Tour has behaved over the years,” Westwood said in the interview. “There’s not been much ‘give.’ They have always been bullies and now they are getting their comeuppance. All the PGA Tour has done since Tiger came on tour is up the prize purses. In turn, that has taken all the best players from Europe away from the European Tour.” (RELATED: Tiger Woods Turned Down $700-$800 Million Offer To Join New Golf League, Tour’s CEO Says).

Westwood also addressed criticism of Saudi Arabia’s alleged human rights abuses in the Middle East.

“The questions on the Saudi government and their policies are unanswerable,” Westwood told Golf Digest. “My response is just to try and not answer them. I’m not a politician; I’m a golfer. But I do know that sport can be used as change for good.”