Greg Norman is one of the great champions of the British Open.
When the venerable golf tournament celebrates its 150th anniversary next week, he won’t be welcome. The St Andrews Royal and Ancient Golf Club released a statement on Saturday announcing it had contacted Norman to tell him not to appear at celebrations leading up to next weekend’s championship.
“In response to inquiries regarding the R&A Celebration of Champions field and Champions’ Dinner, we can confirm that we have contacted Greg Norman to let him know that we have decided not to invite him to attend on this occasion,” the statement said . “The 150th Open is a hugely important milestone for golf and we want to ensure that the focus remains on celebrating the championship and its legacy.
“Unfortunately, we do not believe that would have been the case had Greg been present. We hope that when circumstances permit, Greg will be able to attend again in the future.”
The statement did not specifically mention LIV Golf. It doesn’t either. The insinuation in the last line is clear. If Norman cuts his ties with the emerging Saudi-backed golf league, he will be back in the good graces of the R&A. Until then, it looks like he’s not welcome.
Greg Norman is not invited to the party in St. Andrews. (Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images)
The history of Norman’s Open is overshadowed by links with LIV Golf
Norman won the British Open in 1986 at Turnberry and again at Royal St George’s in 1993. He made a playoff at Royal Troon in 1989, which was won by Mark Calcavecchia. His two British Open victories are the only major wins on his Hall of Fame resume.
As CEO of LIV Golf, Norman is now the public face of the league that upended the PGA Tour and drew a dividing line between the world’s best players. The league has offered lucrative amounts of money to attract elite talent and has successfully done so with Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson among its ranks.
Billions in the league’s funding comes from a Saudi regime with a long history of human rights abuses. LIV Golf participants have been widely criticized for helping the Saudis “wash the sport” of their record of human rights atrocities. Hatice Cengiz – the fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi – criticized LIV Golf participants in June for “supporting murderers”.
The story continues
The PGA Tour is avoiding players who play for LIV Golf, meaning it’s moving forward without some of the game’s biggest stars. Other top players remain, including Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods. McIlroy and Thomas are unabashed in their disdain for the Rebel League. Meanwhile, major tournaments not directly connected to the PGA Tour – the US Open and British Open so far – continue to welcome golfers to LIV. For now. But Norman isn’t invited to the St. Andrews party.
Norman answers
What does Norman think of all this? He is ready to forgive and forget Khashoggi’s murder. “We’ve all made mistakes,” Norman said in May of the journalist’s death, which U.S. intelligence said was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He has since accused the PGA Tour of “deafening hypocrisy” over his criticism of LIV golf. As for the R&A’s snub on Saturday – Norman is “disappointed”. But he remains unfazed.
“I’m disappointed,” Norman told Australia Golf Digest. “I would have thought the R&A would stay on top of everything given their position in world golf. (It’s) small because all I’ve done is promote and grow the game of golf globally, on and off the golf course, for more than four decades.”
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