Greg Norman was seemingly snubbed from the talks surrounding the groundbreaking deal between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, according to Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
It was confirmed on Tuesday after that, after a year of feuding, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour would be coming together to join its rival LIV Golf.
One figure who is surprisingly yet to address the move though is LIV's bullish CEO Norman. The former world No. 1 has found himself at the centre of the dramatic saga surrounding LIV and the PGA Tour, since the idea of a Saudi-backed series was first presented two years ago.
The man who broke the news on behalf of LIV was governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund Al-Rumayyan. And the Saudi businessman has since confirmed that he only told Norman about the merger just moments before going on air with CNBC to discuss the deal.
Per CBS, Al-Rumayyan was asked when he informed Norman about the deal, to which he replied: "I made the call just before this [interview on CNBC]." It seems those on the LIV Golf side were not the only ones kept out of the loop though.
In a statement, confirming the news, Tour boss Jay Monahan said: "After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.
"This transformational partnership recognises the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV – including the team golf concept – to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans."
The man in charge at the DP World Tour, Keith Pelley also commented on the deal, describing the merger as a 'momentous day'. He said: "This is a momentous day. We are delighted to be able to not only reignite our relationship with PIF, but also to have the opportunity to build on our current Strategic Alliance partnership with the PGA TOUR.
"Together we will be stronger than ever and well positioned to continue to bring the game to all corners of the globe. To partner in this new entity and influence the growth of the game for all our DP World Tour members is energising and exciting.”
Taking to Twitter former Open champion Collin Morikawa insinuated he knew nothing about the deal, posting, "I love finding out morning news on Twitter." The frustation was also clear to see from Tour pro MacKenzie Hughes, who added: "Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with."
