The controversial LIV Golf tour is reportedly facing huge financial losses despite securing the signings of a string of stars.
The Saudi-backed venture kicked off in St Albans in June, with Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickleson, and Ian Poulter among the early captures. Since then, other high profile stars have defected, most notably Open champion and then world No 2 Cam Smith.
And in a direct attack on the 2023 Ryder Cup, European captain Henrik Stenson was stripped of the honour in July after also signing for Greg Norman. But despite the growing momentum, LIV Golf confirmed last week that chief operating officer Atul Khosla had resigned after just one season.
And according to a New York Times report last week, recruitment has fallen short of what will be needed to make the project viable. It suggested secret analysis had shown the project needs to recruit the top dozen players in the world, as well as 15-times major champion Tiger Woods.
On current trajectory, the report claims, it could lose £292 million before interest and taxes in 2028. It's a very different narrative to the one publicly being pedalled by Norman, who has been resolute in his insistence that LIV will become the premier Tour in the game.
Earlier this year, it emerged Woods had turned down a staggering offer in the region of £600 million to defect. It's also been revealed that iconic NBA star Michael Jordan was targeted by LIV chiefs to sit on their board.
But recruitment aren't the only issues set to plague Norman and co. Players are currently in a legal battle with authorities over the absence of ranking points at rebel events, meaning some players could soon be in danger of missing major championships.
Tournaments are also yet to secure a prime television deal, instead relying on live streams via the authority's Facebook page. And crowd numbers are yet to take off as well, despite the increased publicity around the Saudi-backed venture.
Norman, 67, has faced calls to resign from the likes of Woods and Rory McIlroy, but was defiant last week in the wake of Khosla's departure: "I’m totally confident, totally proud and totally committed to this job and that is building out LIV Golf in perpetuity and giving players and fans another kind of golf to enjoy," he said.
