“The journey continues” Greg Norman said on Twitter after the historic golfing merger was announced, but could it be the end of his own personal journey with LIV Golf after being kept in the dark about the entire thing?
Norman is the CEO of LIV Golf, but an important detail of the PGA Tour’s big merger is that the deal is with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) and not with LIV Golf itself.
And while PIF boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan will be the chairman of the new all-powerful golfing entity, there was no mention of Norman being involved at all in the new structure.
And when Al-Rumayyan appeared on CNBC in America to announce the deal, he revealed that Norman had only just been told about the news minutes before it was revealed.
"He is aware,” said Al-Rumayyan. “I made a call just before this. Of course, he's a partner with us. All the stakeholders with us had a call right before this interview."
It’s not exactly the ringing endorsement Norman may have hoped for of his future involvement in the new world order in golf, and it’s now being reported that he won’t be involved at all.
Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig says a source has said that Norman “was not expected to be part of the venture going forward” after the merger was announced.
Norman is the figurehead of LIV Golf, but comments from PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan suggest he will now have a big say in the future of the team tournament, saying he will be “evaluating LIV and figuring out the direction for team golf going forward”.
Monahan also said that it was highly unlikely LIV Golf events in future would go head-to-head with big PGA Tour events, so the future of the entire enterprise is by no means certain.
Australian golfing legend Norman had the profile and gravitas to lead the LIV Golf revolution and launch a successful disturbance in the professional game, but it is thought in some circles that the organisation was just a vehicle to get Al-Rumayyan and the PIF a seat at golf’s top table.
And given Norman’s fractious relationship with the PGA Tour and his well-aired comments against the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jay Monahan, it’s also highly unlikely that he’d be working closely with anything on their side of the new golfing landscape.
One of LIV Golf’s main attractions for some was its role as a disruptor, but if it is now absorbed into a lesser role inside the PGA Tour, Norman could easily be seen as surplus to requirements.
This merger may well be seen as an overall victory for Norman in changing the golfing landscape, but it does not necessarily mean he’ll have as big a say in shaping the new future of the sport.
