Norman slams ‘hatred’ aimed at LIV Golf stars in staunch defence of Mickelson

Greg Norman has described the treatment of those who chose to defect from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to LIV Golf ‘disgusting’, in a staunch defence of his playing roster.

Norman has been the man behind the rapid rise of the LIV setup, who received the mega-money backing of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). The breakaway league’s first event came in June 2022, with the likes of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson taking part.

Soon after a whole host of big names followed in their footsteps, with Norman acquiring the services of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith in the weeks following the league’s maiden event at Centurion Golf Club.

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The decision to make the Saudi switch was a big one for those involved, having faced a whole host of criticism, as well as suspension from the PGA Tour. Two years on, the fallout between the two tours has eased slightly, but this did not stop Norman from hitting out at the initial treatment of his players.

“I compliment the boys who came over, the first movers,” he told Bloomberg. “They came on with massive amounts of headwind. The vitriol and hatred was just disgusting to be quite honest with you. Considering what these guys have done for the game of golf

“How they have carried the game of golf, and the institutions they represented. It was disgusting.” It is expected that the civil war within professional golf will finally come to an end after the PGA Tour announced last June that they had reached a framework agreement with PIF.

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This is expected to see the Tour align with their LIV rivals, and bring a stop to the animosity between the two tours. As things stands though, a deal is yet to be finalised with Jay Monahan and co continuing to negotiate with their Saudi counterparts over one year on from the initial announcement.

It was hoped that the the peace agreement would be completed by the end of 2023, with those involved setting themselves a deadline of December 31 to officially put pen on paper. This deadline was missed, but there were hopes of completion by April’s Masters – again a target that was unable to be met.

Heading into this month’s U.S. Open, Fire Pit Collective had reported that a draft agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi fund had been agreed, but what this means for the future of the game remains to be seen. Commissioner Monahan did provide an update to his players, admitting there was still work to be done.

“Both parties recognise that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement,” Monahan commented. “Our talks are ongoing with the goal of developing a shared vision for the future of professional golf that is pro competitive and provides players with the best global opportunities.”