Tiger Woods likely to play the Turkish Airways World Golf Finals
The only three-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2012, Tiger Woods, is likely to participate in the inaugural edition of the $5.3 million Turkish Airways World Golf Finals, scheduled from October 9 to 12, 2012.
According to the United Kingdom’s newspapers, The Telegraph and The Daily Mail, the event will feature a total of eight players and will become an official event on the European Tour by 2013.
Other than Woods, the reigning US Open champion Webb Simpson, world number two Rory McIlroy, world number one Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel and Hunter Mahan will also be a part of the showcase event.
According to the published reports, the winner will receive $1.5 million as prize money while the runner-up will take $1 million home.
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, did not confirm complete details about his employer, whether he will play the next year’s event or not.
However, he did tell that they are interested in being a part of the event for the next three years.
"We've been in discussions for a couple of months," Steinberg said. "It's not finalized but we're trying to work toward that end. At this point, Tiger's schedule is pretty fluid. We're looking at this year and seeing if the event is absolutely going to happen".
The tournament dates are currently scheduled a week before the start of the Frys Open, which is a part of Woods’ schedule each year.
“Beyond this year, we don't know what the dates are for the Turkey event,” Steinberg said. Tiger had an enjoyable time at the Frys last year (where he tied for 30th). But I'm just looking at this year for right now".
According to the reports, the main reason for staging an event in Turkey is to give a message to the whole world that the country is an excellent destination for the Olympic Games.
The game of golf will make a return to Olympics after its absence for more than one century, when it will be a part of the 2016 Games in Brazil.
Moreover, the sport will also be featured in the 2020 Games, for which Turkey is a contender for the hosting privileges.
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