While attitudes towards LIV Golf appear to have softened over the last three years, with the large majority of the golfing world determined to come back together, it does appear that Greg Norman still remains one of the game’s most divisive figures.
Rory McIlroy has been one of those who has often criticised Greg Norman for the role he has played in LIV Golf. Norman is the CEO of LIV Golf, and has certainly appeared to have not been afraid to ruffle the feathers of the likes of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
It did appear to be important that LIV had someone like Norman to be the face of the breakaway tour, particularly at the very start. Norman was one of the game’s superstars during the 1980s and the 1990s, winning two Open Championships while also finishing second in eight majors during his career.
And it seems that he may not have needed too much encouragement to head up the PIF’s plans for LIV. Hughes Norton was the Shark’s agent for more than a decade, and he explained to The Golfer’s Journal how he had heard about the idea of a new tour for Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and 27 other players being mooted in the 1960s.
How Arnold Palmer reacted to Greg Norman suggesting a breakaway tour in 1994
Palmer rejected the idea due to the impact that it would have on the rest of the players left behind. And so, it was hardly surprising that Norton revealed that it was the King who stood up and voiced his displeasure when Norman pitched a similar idea 30 years ago.
“I represented Greg for 11 years, we spent a ton of time together, we’d have conversations about you’d name it, everything. And I say, ‘Greg, you’re a global player, did you know about Mark’s idea for this other tour?’ And he said, ‘no, tell me about it’. He was fascinated. So 1994, Greg presents this world tour idea to the tour,” he said.
“The tour gets wind of it beforehand and they assemble a players’ meeting out in California at the Shark Shootout which was a tournament that I created with Greg for him. He made his pitch, and guess who’s in the audience, Arnold Palmer. And he stood up just like he had 30 years before, speaking to Mark, and said, ‘Greg, how many times do you think Gary and Jack and I were approached with ideas like this? We always turned it down, you know why? Because it’s not fair to the fellas’. That was one of Arnold’s expressions.
“He turned to the other players in the room, there were 40 or 50 of them and said, ‘guys, you do whatever you want, I’m at the end of my career, but this idea’s not for me’. And he got up and walked out the room. And there was such adulation still all those years later for Arnold that the other players started looking at each other and said, ‘we can’t do this’. Greg was caught, he was shellshocked, was bitter, basically held a grudge ever since, against the tour, not so much against Arnold.”
Division sparked by LIV Golf is yet to reap rewards for the current game
It is remarkable that Palmer still seemingly commanded enough respect that the rest of the players in that meeting were not prepared to go against his opinion once he had voiced his concerns – even at that stage of his career. Palmer turned 65 in 1994, so clearly, the future of the PGA Tour had little impact on him.
Norman meanwhile, clearly earmarked himself as an obvious candidate to get involved with LIV. As well as previously being in favour of a breakaway tour, he is someone who has got stuck into business since his playing days.
It is interesting that Norton mentions that Norman held a grudge against the PGA Tour in the years after. Perhaps that influenced how determined he was to put the cat amongst the pigeons when LIV Golf got going.
Certainly, many will look at the state of the current game and probably feel that Palmer was right to knock back every attempt for a smaller number of players to breakaway.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
