LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is on-site at the 152nd Open, it has been confirmed.
Revealed by Golf Digest, Norman was officially invited as a past champion with access to hospitality.
The Australian's two Major victories each came at The Open, with Norman winning his first Claret Jug in 1986 at Turnberry before winning again at Royal St George's in 1993. He was also second here at Royal Troon to Mark Calcavecchia in 1989, where he lost in a playoff alongside Wayne Grady.
“It's good to be back,” Norman told Golf Digest.
“The Open has a lot of history for me. To me, it was the best championship of all. The Masters is the Masters, but I put this one up above all four of them because it is a true open. People can come and play [qualify]. I love the way they rotate the host course and it’s links golf.
"In my professional career, I prided myself on coming back and playing the Open Championship."
Norman also told Golf Digest that he is happy to see LIV and its players being more accepted into the golf landscape.
“I think in the beginning there was a lot of I guess misinterpretation of the situation," he said.
"I love seeing the way things have settled down, now. Everybody's seen that within the ecosystem, LIV Golf has been accepted and the players deserve to be in these big championships.”
It is the second men's Major of the year that he has attended after he was spotted at Augusta National in April. He was there as a ticket holder, not an invitee, after purchasing passes via the secondary market.
The former World No.1's trip to Augusta was a very pleasant one, with the Australian thanking fans on social media for their praise of what he had achieved with LIV Golf.
"It was humbling, moving and I was taken aback by your words of encouragement - “thank you for what you have done for golf”, “don’t stop”, “Love LIV”, and the one that got to me personally and emotionally “welcome back", he said.
Norman's invite to this year's championship shows a thawing in golf's civil war, especially considering he was controversially not invited to the 150th Open at St Andrews due to his ties with LIV Golf.
"In response to enquiries regarding The R&A Celebration of Champions field and the Champions’ Dinner, we can confirm that we contacted Greg Norman to advise him that we decided not to invite him to attend on this occasion," the R&A said in 2022.
"The 150th Open is an extremely important milestone for golf and we want to ensure that the focus remains on celebrating the Championship and its heritage. Unfortunately, we do not believe that would be the case if Greg were to attend. We hope that when circumstances allow Greg will be able to attend again in future."
Norman said at the time that he was disappointed to not be invited.
“I’m disappointed with their decision, particularly given it is The 150th Open. I have been a staunch proponent of the R&A since 1977 and a proud Champion Golfer of the Year – twice," he said.
Norman will be supporting the likes of Joaquin Niemann and Dean Burmester this weekend at Troon where they are leading the LIV Golf leaderboard at The Open - albeit some way back of leader Shane Lowry.
