Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf who has butted heads with golf’s establishment during the Saudi-funded tour’s three years of existence, attended the Open Championship and didn’t need to buy a ticket to do so.
Norman, often the face of the ongoing dispute in professional golf, was spotted in the gallery this spring at Augusta National while wearing a Masters patron’s badge after having been denied the pass the club customarily provides for past major champions. He gained access to the Open at Royal Troon in a manner more befitting one of the game’s most accomplished champions: via an R&A guest badge, Golf Digest reported.
As a two-time winner of the Claret Jug, Norman built a large part of his professional résumé at the R&A-run Open. He won in 1986 at Turnberry and in 1993 at Royal St. George’s, his only major titles in a World Golf Hall of Fame career. Norman was 0-for-4 in the Open at Troon, famously losing to Mark Calcavecchia in a four-hole aggregate playoff in 1989.
“It’s good to be back,” said Norman, who had a rooting interest in the 18 LIV-connected players at Royal Troon. “The Open has a lot of history for me. To me, it was the best championship of all. The Masters is the Masters, but I put this one up above all four of them because it is a true open.” READ MORE
Stuart Franklin, R&A via Getty Images
No direct path from LIV Golf to the Open Championship is being discussed by the R&A, outgoing CEO Martin Slumbers said last week at Royal Troon. Officials from the Saudi-funded rival tour, whose players are suspended by the PGA Tour and must pay fines to be eligible to compete on the DP World Tour, have unsuccessfully petitioned the R&A and leaders of the other major championships – Masters, PGA and U.S. Open – to create a pathway for LIV players. READ MORE
LIV Golf defector Jon Rahm needs to pay a fine estimated at “well into six figures” to be eligible to play on the DP World Tour again before he can contend for a spot on Europe’s 2025 Ryder Cup team, according to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig. READ MORE
The PGA Tour will play an eight-tournament fall schedule as it finalizes the top 125 players who earn exempt status for next year’s full-field events, the tour announced.
The series will begin in mid-September and run through late November, with a break for the Presidents Cup in late September.
The fall schedule includes the usual stops in Napa, California; Jackson, Mississippi; Las Vegas, Nevada; Inzai, Japan; Los Cabos, Mexico; Southampton, Bermuda; and St. Simons Island, Georgia; plus a debut in Ivins, Utah. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon
