According to the head of the LIV, the PGA is to blame for the current golf war. We wanted to negotiate, says Norman

The tension between the traditional PGA Tour and the newly formed LIV Golf Tour continues to intensify. According to the head of the new project, Greg Norman, to whom even the world’s greatest golf aces are moving, the current tense situation is mainly due to the PGA management, which has refused any discussions from the beginning. However, he continues to believe in the merger of the two organisations.

Former Australian golf phenomenon Greg Norman continues to be the target of strong criticism of the newly formed LIV Golf Series. The American media is calling it a golf civil war.

“If PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan had the decency to accept our requests for meetings right from the start, none of this would have to happen today,” Norman told the Palm Beach Post in a recent interview.

He said PGA executives have been calling for discussions from the beginning, but all doors for negotiations have been closed from the start. He himself believes that golf in America and Europe would be much better off today.

The former world number one sees the emergence of competitive competition as an important step that will move world golf forward: “The PGA was resting on their laurels and thought they were the only organisation. That they were the monopolists and could control the game,” continued Norman, who admitted that he first entertained the idea of a competitive event back in 1994.

He rejects the PGA Tour’s strong opposition, as well as their complaints that the LIV Golf Tour is funded by Saudi public money:: “I’ve been to Saudi Arabia myself, I’ve built golf courses, I’ve been part of the internal change in their culture to some extent because golf represents a force for good on a global basis,” he explained his position.

He also wonders about the strong criticism because reportedly even the PGA Tour has 23 sponsors who do $40 billion in business with Saudi Arabia. Therefore, he adds in response to the PGA, “Just be true to yourself when you spread such opinions.”

“We have done nothing but put together a business model and give independent contractors the right to make a living doing something else, as well as still being a member of the PGA Tour,” he says. He says it is still realistic for the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Tour to work together in the future to take world golf to the next level.

At the moment, Greg Norman sits with his team in a 14th floor office in a high-rise building in downtown West Palm Beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Next door, the new LIV headquarters is being built to accommodate up to 216 employees.

Source: LIV Golf, Palm Beach Post