Greg Norman Breaks His Silence, Says He Has 'Zero' Concern About LIV Golf's Future
DORAL, Fla. — Greg Norman said he has "zero" concern about the future of the LIV Golf League, regardless of what happens with the "framework agreement" that was announced in June between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, made his first public comments since the shocking agreement was announced in a session with a small group of reporters Thursday at Doral, where LIV’s season-ending team championship begins Friday.
Greg Norman said on the eve of the season finale that "LIV has never been stronger."
Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports
"All indications are showing that the position of LIV has never been stronger and that the success of our players and our brand has never been in a better place," said Norman, 68, who has stayed in the background since the announcement and said that he is not involved in any negotiations regarding the agreement.
“And as we look forward into 2024, we’ve got a full schedule. We’ve got some places we’ve been to before, but we’ve got some new venues as well and we’re reaching different regions."
Norman's future has come into question due to the agreement. He was unaware that the governor of the PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, was in secret negotiations with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Policy Board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy that led to the Jan. 6 announcement.
At the time, it was put forth that the sides would strive to work out a deal that would see the PGA Tour’s non-profit entity that exists today stay intact; and that a new company, PGA Tour Enterprises, would be formed as a for-profit LLC that would incorporate aspects of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf.
Al-Rumayyan would get a seat on the PGA Tour Policy Board and would also be chairman of the board of the new company, with Monahan acting as CEO.
That put the future of LIV Golf in doubt and the agreement suggested that the PGA Tour executives would control LIV’s fate.
Asked about his level of concern about LIV’s future, Norman said: "Zero, zero. And during the 6th (of June) zero. And I have zero today."
As for reports about there being no role for him that were part of congressional hearings held with PGA Tour executives in July, Norman said: “I knew it wasn’t true. There is so much white noise out there. I pay zero attention to it."
Asked for the best outcome of the framework agreement, Norman said he did want to comment specifically on the negotiations.
"I have my own personal points what that is, but I’m not involved with it," he said. "I don’t want to be involved with it. There’s smarter people involved with that than I am. I just hope it does work. I really do. I’ve always been a believer of that. That’s why I wanted to speak to Jay Monahan a long time ago. I wanted to speak to him to explain the value of what our product is. And the value of what we can give back to everybody. They chose not to. So I’ll leave it up them to figure it out. I’m truly having a great time doing this. The journey’s been worth it."
Norman, who won 20 times on the PGA Tour including two major championships and some 60 other worldwide titles, has long feuded with PGA Tour leadership about player rights and the ability to set their own schedules without restrictions.
Some 30 years ago, he had plans for a world tour that would have seen the top players compete in limited fields with guaranteed money. The concept was eventually scrapped by then-PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who later turned the idea into a smaller version with the World Golf Championship events.
Norman said it was his hope that eventually LIV players would be able to compete in PGA Tour events, just as was his goal back in the early 1990s.
"That was our original premise to have guys share no different than what I had in 1993 with the world tour, right?" he said. "You could play 12 events and still go play on the PGA Tour, but over here you had a chance to make significant generational wealth over here. You could still play with the PGA Tour.
"Now remember guys, we had only one place to go, that was the PGA Tour, (which owned) our (media rights), they told us where we could play and couldn't play. We had no chance in the hell of really expanding our generational wealth.
"Now the guys on the PGA Tour are going to see the benefits of that. You're seeing changes in the Tour since LIV. So we've become a leader in helping everybody understand how to commercialize the game of golf."
Norman said LIV Golf has a 14-event schedule for 2024 that has six domestic events and eight that are international. Although it has not been confirmed and could change, Sports Illustrated reported last month that the outline of the schedule includes events in Mexico, Las Vegas, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Dallas, Australia, Singapore, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Spain, England, West Virginia, South Korea and South Florida.
"Our next couple of months are probably going to be my most exciting time," Norman said. "We’re going through this relegation process, trade process, building out the teams, getting the teams to a position that each captains wants to, negotiations, all that. All the stuff that really is going to energize it. With each year that goes by, this is really going to even more exciting for us.
"I’m definitely seeing a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) out there. I know, personally I’m speaking to numerous players who want to come to LIV."