Lee Westwood accuses reporter of being "ageist" on social media
Lee Westwood did not take kindly to a tweet posted by Joel Beall about himself and Jason Kokrak and he accused the reporter of being a coward.
Lee Westwood accused a golf reporter of being ageist with a tweet they posted on social media about himself and fellow PGA Tour player Jason Kokrak.
Golf Digest writer Joel Beall posted a tweet that read, "Imagine going from hosting the PGA Championship to hosting a battle between Jason Kokrak and 49-year-old Lee Westwood."
This tweet was a reference to the emerging LIV Golf Invitational Series, the identity of the Saudi golf league, and the players that it could attract with the huge purses at each event.
Many of the world's top players such as Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau have rejected the rival series to the PGA Tour, however, Westwood and Kokrak are two players who have refused to rule themselves out of participation.
Kokrak has previously admitted to wanting to make as much money as possible during his career, while Westwood once revealed that he signed an NDA which prevented him from speaking any further on the Saudi golf league.
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Sounding a bit ageist there pal. You might get a preview of that next week at the @DellMatchPlay as we’re both top 64 in the world. What a coward you are not tagging in @jaykokrak or myself! Clearly the threshold is very low to become a senior writer at @GolfDigest ! https://t.co/CwkcCjsCZI
— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) March 17, 2022
When Beall posted the tweet, Westwood was quick to respond and leap to the defence of him and Kokrak who have five wins on the PGA Tour between them.
"Sounding a bit ageist there pal. You might get a preview of that next week at the @DellMatchPlay as we’re both top 64 in the world. What a coward you are not tagging in @jaykokrak or myself! Clearly the threshold is very low to become a senior writer at @GolfDigest!" The Englishman tweeted.
Kokrak, who won twice on the PGA Tour last season, also replied, "@WestwoodLee and I would give people a great match. Outstanding player for a long time. Never heard of this @JoelMBeall guy anyway. No need to be disrespectful unless you care to take a shot at it face to face."
It would certainly be a coincidence if the pair were to be matched together at the Dell Technologies Match Play next week.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series is set to begin in June at the Centurion Club. There will be eight events and each of them will have a purse of $25 million.
