Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf League, was sighted on the Augusta National grounds on Wednesday before the 88th Masters.
Norman told the Post, “I’m here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them,” “So, I’m here just to support them, do the best I can to show them, ‘Hey, you know, the boss is here rooting for you.'”
Three times runner-up in the competition, Norman has not visited the Masters since 2021, when he went in his capacity as a Sirius XM radio analyst. That August, he was appointed chief executive of LIV Golf. Images of Norman greeting fellow Australian Min Woo Lee showed him sporting a LIV Golf shirt and a hat bearing the Shark brand.
Norman declined to attend the Masters last year amid the fervor of the LIV Golf-PGA Tour rivalry. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley stated the tournament did not invite Norman in an effort to “keep the focus on the competition.”
Funny enough, I haven’t received an invitation, Norman said to Telegraph Sport the previous year. “As a major winner I always was [invited] before, but they only sent me a grounds pass last year and nothing, zilch, this time around. I’m disappointed because it’s so petty but of course I’ll still be watching.”
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which supports LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour have announced a framework agreement to merge since the 2023 event. But both sides are still negotiating over a settlement that should start to revive the sport in some way, over a year later.
Norman insisted that LIV Golf will not disappear when the framework deal was revealed on June 6 of last year. Since then, the Saudi-backed golf league has added Jon Rahm, the winner of the Masters, and Tyrrell Hatton, who is presently ranked 19th in the world.
Compared to eighteen last year, there are thirteen LIV golfers in the Masters field this year. Since events held within the league aren’t eligible to earn world ranking points, players who left the PGA Tour have seen a sharp decline in their standings as they have spent more time with LIV Golf.
Norman told the Post, “I think there’s probably a couple that have been overlooked that should be in.” “What is that number? I’m not going to give it a definitive number, but they’re definitely quality players that have done incredible performances over the last six to nine months that are worthy of it.”
Ridley stated on Wednesday that Augusta is always able to extend special invitations to players who aren’t on the field if it thinks they deserve them, as it did with Joaquin Niemann this season. However, it’s possible that there won’t be an invitation or exemption exclusive to LIV Golf.
“Our goal is to have, to the greatest extent possible, the best field in golf, the best players in the world,” Ridley stated. “Having said that, we never have had all the best players in the world because of the structure of our tournament. It’s an invitational. It’s limited field, it’s a small field. But we do have that flexibility … and I would not foreclose that we would consider that in the future.”