Greg Norman was not one of the official LIV Golf representatives invited to the Masters 2024. However, the breakaway circuit CEO and Commissioner did not want to miss any of the event and sought his own way to be at Augusta National.”The Shark” was spotted at Augusta National Golf Club during the final practice session ahead of the Masters 2024. Greg Norman Jr., son of the double Major champion, confirmed the news on his personal
“Yes. All this is true. My dad paid for a ticket on the secondary market to attend the Masters as a patron. He was denied one directly after going through the proper professional channels. He had to be there anyway to support the LIV players.
Subsequently, Greg Norman himself gave statements to The Washington Post and said the following:
“I’m here because we have 13 players who have won 10 Masters between them. So I’m just here to support them and do the best I can to show them.”
Greg Norman was spotted at various locations around the Augusta National course, showing his support for various LIV players. Of particular note was the time he spent with fellow Australian and PGA Tour rising star, Min Woo Lee.Earlier in the week of the Masters, the Telegraph reported that at least one official representative of LIV Golf had been officially invited to the event, but that Greg Norman was not among the guests. It was also said that a visit by Yasir Al-Rumayyan is possible (although not confirmed).
Greg Norman’s career at The Masters
Greg Norman participated in the Masters Tournament 23 times and achieved three second-place finishes along with six other top-10 finishes as his best results.
His second-place finishes were in 1986, 1987, and 1996, where he came extremely close to winning the title each time. In 1986, Norman was consistently in contention and even led the leaderboard after 54 holes, but Jack Nicklaus managed to come back from a four-hole deficit to beat him by one stroke.
This victory marked Nicklaus’ sixth Green Jacket. The following year, in 1987, Norman made a remarkable comeback by scoring 66 on moving day after not being in the top 10 for the initial 36 holes, positioning himself at T3. Despite tying for first place with Seve Ballesteros and Larry Mize after the fourth round, Mize emerged as the winner after a 2-hole playoff. In 1996, Norman’s performance was nothing short of exceptional and filled with great excitement.
After leading the leaderboard for the initial three rounds, “The Shark” found himself with a six-shot advantage over Nick Faldo after 54 holes.
By the seventh hole of the fourth round, Norman still held a four-stroke lead over Faldo. However, unexpectedly, he dropped five strokes over the following five holes.
The pivotal moment came when he famously hit his tee shot into the water on the 16th hole, dashing any hopes of a comeback. Ultimately, he was defeated by Faldo by a margin of four strokes.