Greg Norman, the founder of LIV Golf, claimed on Thursday that he was no longer willing to talk with the US PGA Tour’s top officials while denying that the Saudi-funded circuit was a “breakaway league.”
Norman said in an interview with the Australian newspaper that he had frequently volunteered to meet with PGA Circuit executives, but they had turned him down in favour of reorganising their tour to retain star players.
That is the reason, according to Norman, for where we are right now.
We worked really hard over the last year—I know I did personally—but when we realised we wouldn’t hear from them again, we just made the decision to go.
To be really honest with you, “We have no interest in sitting down with them since our product is working.”
Golf has been in a crisis since LIV’s debut this year, with the renegade circuit igniting a furious division that threatens to divide the sport in two.
Numerous well-known golfers have joined LIV, which is providing $25 million payouts in no-cut 54-hole competitions. Among them is Cameron Smith, the British Open winner who switched sides last month and was ranked second in the world.
He followed other major champions including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau in being suspended by the PGA Tour when it adopted a zero-tolerance policy.
Norman denied LIV as a “breakaway” league despite the unprecedented unrest, telling the publication that the league’s “business strategy from day one has always focused upon being inclusive.”
He said, “It was always an addition to all trips.
This idea that we’re attempting to sabotage trips is untrue. That’s all there is to it: The PGA Tour wants to ruin us.
But neither I nor any of my investors have had a chat with the PGA Tour.
The new circuit, which is supported by almost limitless resources from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund, has been accused of “sportswashing” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
When Norman was questioned about the critics and protesters that attended LIV’s most recent tournament in Boston, he said, “I don’t really pay attention to that, to be honest with you.
“All I can say is that I’m here to play a round of golf. My main goal is to create the finest league possible.
On Wednesday, in a separate interview with The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Norman expressed concern that if points were not given to LIV players, the global rankings may end up becoming a “laughing stock.”
Its future may hinge on whether LIV tournaments are accepted by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system. The four main tournaments in the sport are more accessible to players if they can accumulate ranking points.
The league intends to field 12 four-player teams in 2023 for its three-day events, with a 14-event international tour that would reportedly include a stop in Norman’s native Australia.