Woods in 'escalating' conflict with US Tour commissioner

Tiger Woods has accused the USPGA Tour of taking advantage of him, saying that his frustration is serious enough that it "could escalate into a bigger situation".

Tiger Woods has accused the USPGA Tour of taking advantage of him, saying that his frustration is serious enough that it "could escalate into a bigger situation".

In an interview for Golf World magazine, Woods said the US Tour commissioner, Tim Finchem, speaks to him only when he wants the player to appear in a certain tournament. Woods said he also disliked the way the tour used his image for its own marketing purposes.

"The only time he talks to me is when he wants me to do something for him," Woods said. "To play in this tournament or that tournament. It's not like he comes up to me and asks me how I'm doing." The magazine said Woods' relationship began to sour last year when the tour refused to let his father follow the "Showdown at Sherwood" against David Duval in a golf cart.

"I believe what I believe in," Woods said. "I understand the whole picture. What amazes me is how much the public doesn't understand." When asked the seriousness of his conflict with the tour, Woods said: "Serious enough that if we don't make everyone aware of it now, it could escalate into a bigger situation."

Woods is largely responsible for record purses on the tour because of the significant increases in ratings. Should he be entitled to a cut of the new television contract? "In a perfect world, I would be," he said. "Arnold [Palmer] would be. All the great ones would be. Arnold is the one who got it all started."