LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman says he was told he was doing a ‘fantastic job’ whilst mixing with the patrons at the 2024 Masters.
Greg Norman says he was told he was doing a ‘fantastic job’ with LIV Golf after he mixed with the crowds during the last day of practice at the 2024 Masters.
The 69-year-old’s presence at the first major of the year was a complete surprise, despite reports earlier in the week that Augusta National chiefs had extended invitations to high-ranking executives from the breakaway tour.
It was unclear in what capacity Norman was attending, but it later emerged The Great White Shark was a paying customer who was there to cheer on the 13 LIV players in the field.
Norman told the Washington Post he believes the reception he received at Augusta National confirmed that what he is doing with LIV Golf ‘fits within the ecosystem’ of the men’s game.
He said: “Walking around here today, there’s not one person who said to me, ‘Why did you do LIV?’ There’s been hundreds of people, even security guys, stopping me, saying, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is fantastic.
“In my opinion, this shows that our product and platform align with the overall golf industry, benefiting the game as a whole.”
Norman became the commissioner of LIV in 2022 and has since become one of the most controversial figures in men’s sports.
The golf controversy began when an Australian golfer sent strong emails to the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, after the North American circuit cautioned players about potential bans for joining the Saudi-backed league.
Surely you jest?” he memorably wrote to Monahan.
And at the height of golf’s schism Norman labelled Rory McIlroy ‘brainwashed’.
McIlroy hit back with his own publics insults and at one point called for Norman to resign from his position when rumblings of a peace deal first surfaced in November 2022.
“I think Greg needs to go,” McIlroy previously said. “I think he just needs to exit stage left.
Norman was also persona non grata at the landmark 150th Open at St. Andrews owing to the unprecedented disruption in the sport.
The individual who won the Open championship twice mentioned that he did not receive an invitation to the Masters last year, which Jon Rahm won. At that time, Rahm was still a PGA Tour player, but he later signed with LIV for a reported £450m ($566.4m). Rahm expressed to the press before his championship defense that he believed his decision to join LIV could be the turning point in bringing the game back together.
“I am present here simply to offer my support and do everything in my power to demonstrate to them that their boss is here cheering them on.” “There may be a few that have been missed which deserve to be included.” “What is the exact number?
I won’t specify a particular number, but there are certainly skilled players who have delivered outstanding performances in the past six to nine months that deserve recognition.”
Norman was probably referring to LIV’s Talor Gooch, who was the individual champion of the breakaway tour in 2024. This year, Gooch did not make it to the four major tournaments due to his decline in the world rankings.
Some LIV players have floated the idea that the majors could offer exemptions for players via their own order of merit.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley poured cold water on that idea before the start of this year’s major.
“I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that had any connection to the rest of the world of golf because they’re basically, not totally, but for the most part, a closed shop,” Ridley said of the breakaway tour.