Greg Norman branded the discussions surrounding him being pushed out of his role as LIV chief executive amid the merger with the PGA Tour as nothing more than “white noise.”
Norman, who has been a proud advocate for LIV since its inception, was left completely in the dark while the uneasy truce was agreed and was made aware of it just hours before it became public knowledge.
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Documents made public at a US Senate hearing also revealed there was a “framework agreement” for Norman to be sacked, a demand pushed by the PGA Tour.
Yet the Australian golf legend insists he was never worried about his future with LIV Golf.
“I knew it wasn’t true,” Norman told reporters at the Trump National Doral course ahead of the LIV event in Miami.
“There is so much white noise out there. I paid very, very little … I actually paid zero attention to it. I know sitting in this seat today, every step I’ve made has been for the right reasons for the game of golf … So I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that. Because this business model works …
“All indications show you that the position of LIV has never been stronger and the position and success of our players and our brand has never been in a better place.”
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The merger is something Norman had wanted to see for quite some time.
In fact, it is a concept he dreamt of as far back as 1993 when he competed on the world tour while the PGA Tour ran concurrently.
Given the riches on offer competing in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, Norman hopes the merger allows players to secure “generational wealth” for themselves and compete in both competitions.
“That was our original premise to have guys share no different than what I had in 1993 with the world tour, right?” Norman 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, 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 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 commercialise the game of golf.”
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