Greg Norman breaks silence amid sacking rumours
Tthe Australian golf legend says he was never worried about his future with LIV Golf.
Greg Norman says the rumours he was potentially going to be sacked amid the merger with the PGA tour was nothing but "white noise". Documents made public at a US Senate hearing revealed there was a “framework agreement” in place for Norman to be sacked, a move supported by the PGA Tour.
The Australian golf legend has been a proud and vocal advocate for LIV Golf since its inception and says he was left in the dark about the plan and only found out about it hours before it was made public. However, Norman insists he was never worried about his LIV future.
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“I knew it wasn’t true,” Norman told reporters 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."
The merger is something Norman has pushed for some time, a concept he came up with back in 1993 while competing on the PGA tour. Norman hopes the deal will lead to LIV Golf players securing "generational wealth" as they compete in both tournaments.
“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.”
Phil Mickelson claims more players want in on LIV Golf
LIV recruit Phil Mickelson believes more PGA Tour and European tour players will jump to Saudi-funded LIV Golf next year despite the league being denied world ranking points. "When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it," he said.
"Everybody here is happy and enjoying what we are doing and enjoying the team aspect of it and enjoying each other and the camaraderie and enjoying playing golf globally and all the benefits that come with playing this tour."
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