Greg Norman, a former world No. 1, two-time British Open winner and head of a new golf league backed by investors from Saudi Arabia, confirmed on Monday night that Phil Mickelson’s recent comments made things difficult for the new operation.
Greg Norman, statements
“There is no question that what he said was detrimental to everyone,” Norman told ESPN. “It hurt the PGA Tour. It hurt us. It hurt golf in general. And it hurt Phil. So yeah, on all fronts. It wasn’t just for us.
But it definitely created negative momentum against us.” White shark’ Norman is the general manager of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, formerly known as the Super Golf League. As the company tried to get off the ground, Mickelson’s comments published on February 15, following a November interview with author Alan Shipnuck, caused a storm.
Mickelson referred to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling the Saudis “scary sons of bitches.” He went on to explain why he was still interested in joining the Saudi-backed league. “(They) have a horrible human rights record,” Mickelson said, according to Shipnuck.
“They execute people there for being gay. Knowing all this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a unique opportunity to reshape the way the PGA Tour works. They’ve been able to get away with manipulative, coercive, heavy-handed tactics because we, the players, had no recourse.
Norman said on Monday that nearly a third of the world’s top 50 players had signed up to play on the new golf circuit (but these players need the respective circuits to grant permission and not be sanctioned as was said at the time).
When Mickelson’s comments were published, many top players reaffirmed their commitment to playing on the PGA Tour. “Honestly, we were ready to launch (in February),” Norman told ESPN. “We had enough players, ready to come on board.
And when all that happened, everyone got nervous, and the PGA Tour threatened people with lifetime bans and things like that,” added the Australian. The LIV Golf Invitational Series, which was originally going to have a 14-event schedule, has been restructured with a potential eight-event season.
Of those, five are expected to take place in the United States, with $255 million at stake. Mickelson has applied to play in an event that conflicts with the PGA Tour, signaling his desire to compete in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
The tournament, which will take place June 9-11 in London, will be open to 48 players competing in 12 four-person teams. “He has surprised me very pleasantly,” said Norman. “What has been talked about in the media and what is reality are two different things.
We know what is happening with great interest expressed. From the point of view of expectations, we have a lot of interest from players with an important name of them interested in our League”, he concluded.
