Greg Norman breaks LIV silence, denies claims of his demise

Greg Norman hasn’t left the building — he’s very much still here. And he’s finally ready to talk.

Norman hasn’t changed his position at all when speaking with reporters for the first time since the PGA Tour announced plans to combine business interests with the Saudi PIF. What does he say in response to the initial reports that he, or more specifically, his position, would be eliminated?

At the LIV team championship in Miami, Norman told reporters from various media outlets, “I knew it wasn’t true.” There is so much background noise present that I paid very little attention to it—in fact, none at all. As I sit here today, I am confident that every move I have made has been appropriate for the game of golf.

The 68-year-old commissioner of LIV Golf hasn’t spoken to reporters much, period, since LIV launched 16 months ago. It was only after LIV’s first season ended that he held court with reporters on a video call last November, promising a TV deal was coming. Eventually, a TV deal did come, with The CW, though the arrangement is somewhat atypical.

Norman made it abundantly clear that he hasn’t altered his position when he spoke with reporters for the first time since the PGA Tour revealed its intentions to combine business interests with the Saudi PIF. So what does he have to say about the early reports that he, or more specifically, his position, would be eliminated?

Norman told reporters from various media outlets at LIV’s team championship in Miami, “I knew it wasn’t true.” “There’s so much white noise going on around me that I paid very, very little attention to it in fact. As I sit in this chair, I am confident that every move I have made has been for the best interests of the game of golf.

What remains unclear is a long list that includes LIV’s staying power and what say in LIV’s future the PGA Tour will have, if any, in the proposed new world order. The Tour and the Saudi PIF continue negotiations toward a definitive agreement, which has a looming deadline of December 31. That deadline could, of course, be extended, but it would appear that competing investment has entered the pro golf sector. Just last week, Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, declared his company recently made an investment proposal to the Tour, one of at least a half-dozen. The Tour itself announced to players that it has received unsolicited proposals as well.

Rather than viewing the last few months as indications that he’ll being replaced, or being hurt about not being involved with the negotiations, Norman sees all of the above as a boon to his league.

“The framework agreement really is a bit of a catalyst because of the recognizing the commercialization of what we are doing here at LIV,” Norman said. “Private equity has never been invested in the game. We’re an asset class now. And that asset class is in the teams.”

Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson both acknowledged interest from investors in press conferences this week, but both noted that any negotiations on that matter would not take place until after this season. Elsewhere in the men’s game, five founding teams of TGL have declared investment from various partners in the sports world.