Greg Norman is not going away.
In a letter he sent Tuesday to players and obtained by Golfweek, the Great White Shark said the rival Saudi Arabia-backed golf league that would rival the PGA Tour still has teeth and will launch soon, and information of the proposed league’s first events will be announced Wednesday,
S.I.com/Morning Read was the first to report the news.
Despite recent, overwhelming dismissal of the league by many of the game’s top players, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth, Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf Investments, said “we will continue to drive this vision forward. We will not stop. We believe in our mission and will announce information about our first events tomorrow.”
LIV Golf Investments, backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has already committed $300 million over 10 years to the Asian Tour. Although lacking in detail, LIV Golf Investments also has proposed a Super Golf League that would consist of 14 events with 48-player fields featuring both individual and team play.
The events would be 54 holes with no cut. Each would have a $20 million purse.
An ownership component for players with eight-figure signing bonuses also has been reported.
Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau have been rumored to be joining the league. Johnson and DeChambeau, however, recently have said they are with the PGA Tour. Mickelson, who hasn’t played since the Farmers Insurance Open, said he needed time away from the game after derogatory remarks he made in November about the repressive Saudi Arabia regime and the PGA Tour were made public by Alan Shipnuck of the Firepit Collective and author of the soon-to-be-released “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar.”
Despite the player rejections and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan saying last week at The Players Championship that the Tour is moving on, Norman remains undeterred. Monahan has told players if they join the rival league, they could lose PGA Tour membership.
“We consider ourselves a start-up,” Norman wrote. “We may start with a modest number of players, but we won’t stay that way for long. I fully understand some players may choose not to play with us right away. But after we get going, I believe many of those who aren’t with us now will be with us later. I want to thank you for your patience, but know, it will be worth your while.
“While we respect that some of you may have concerns, know that we will work tirelessly with you to alleviate them. Our goal always will be to let you focus on your playing performance, while benefitting from new opportunities, whenever you are ready for them.”
Norman also wrote that the proposed Super Golf League would not conflict with the four major championships or heritage championships.
“LIV Golf has been consistent in its desire to complement the annual tour schedules and wider global golf ecosystem,” Norman wrote. “From the beginning, we designed this so players have the choice to play on any tour, and in LIV Golf events, and actively encourage you to do so. We will not ask you to choose one or the other. This is in addition to, not in place of, your current Tour schedule.
“I look forward to following up with you in the days ahead. For now, all I ask is that you keep an open mind. It’s 100 percent in your interest to do so.”
