More than 25 years after Greg Norman tried to start a world tour, he announced on Friday he will be the CEO of a new company that will start by adding 10 tournaments on the Asian Tour over the next 10 years that will add $200 million in playing opportunities and prize money.
Most of the funding for LIV Golf Investments comes from the Public Investment Fund, the investing arm of Saudi Arabia chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Still to be determined is whether this was the first step toward rumblings of a Saudi-backed “super league,†in which top players are offered as much as $50 million to be part of a team concept. Various iterations of the team concept have been trying to gain traction for nearly a decade, picking up momentum in the last two years.
Greg Norman after winning the 1993 British Open.Credit:Getty
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has made it clear to his players that anyone who joins will no longer be part of the PGA Tour.
“This is only the beginning,†Norman said in a release, adding the company has secured a major capital commitment to be used to create “additive new opportunities†around the world.
“We will be a cooperative and respectful supporter of the game at every level, and today’s announcement alongside the Asian Tour is the first example of that,†he said.
Cho Minn Thant, the commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, called it the “single biggest development†in the tour’s history.
The Saudi International already is part of the Asian Tour after Golf Saudi, which operates the tournament, signed a 10-year partnership with the tour last month.
Dustin Johnson is the defending champion and a two-time winner in its three years while it was part of the European Tour schedule. Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson are among those who have played.
