When Rory McIlroy makes his attempt to win the Players Championship on Thursday, it will be against a backdrop of storms golf has become increasingly familiar with.
While the LIV excitement has been raging, a new Tiger Woods controversy has also fallen out of the clouds into a courtroom.
It has emerged that a former longtime friend of Woods, Erica Herman, is attempting to legally challenge the terms of a non-disclosure agreement she signed in August 2017 when they began a nearly six-year relationship.
Legal documents filed Monday in Florida point to the Speak Out Act, which relates to disputes related to sexual assault or sexual harassment, among the issues her attorneys made in her motion to nullify the nondisclosure agreement.
It’s unclear if Woods, who doesn’t play for Sawgrass, has been charged with a misdemeanor. Sportsmail has reached out to its agent for comment.
Tiger Woods’ former girlfriend is questioning the terms of an NDA agreement signed in 2017
It is uncertain if Woods – who does not compete in the Players Championship – has been charged with an offence
This scenario served as a harrowing distraction from the tournament and the ongoing golf civil war that has resulted in the absence of 31 LIV golfers from what is normally the sport’s strongest field.
The list of missing includes defending champion Cameron Smith, an LIV defector and Florida resident who this week offered the amusing possibility that he might come by to watch.
With LIV Rebels still able to play in the Majors, their absence will be most clearly observed at this PGA Tour flagship event. It is here that the chaos of their creation has also created most of the wealth for those left behind, with the tour’s efforts to stem further defectors resulting in a swollen £21m prize fund, with £3.8m going to the winner.
Rory McIlroy will start his bid to win the Players Championship when the action begins on Thursday
Defending champion Cameron Smith is among 31 LIV golfers missing from the competition
In fact, each of the top four will pocket in excess of £1m, adding to McIlroy’s admission that LIV has “benefited everyone who plays elite professional golf”. While that’s true in a financial context, the dispute has done little for those who want to see the best play the best.
At the very least, this tournament has mitigated those losses with the first two-round groupings that brought together world-ranked top three Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy. The next two days will provide a fascinating insight into their relative positions.
Scheffler said: “We’ve had some really, really great results so far this year, with a lot of the best players going head-to-head. As a player you look forward to beating the best in the world.”
