Greg Norman Says Rival Saudi Golf League Will Announce First Events Wednesday

Greg Norman speaks at the 2022 Saudi International golf tournament. — Greg Norman is continuing to urge patience from players and vows that the yet-to-be-named league will launch.

Golffile/Fran Caffrey

LIV Golf Enterprises and the proposed new league being fronted by Greg Norman has taken several hits in recent weeks, namely a few top PGA Tour players professing their allegiance to the PGA Tour and saying no to lucrative guaranteed overtures to compete in the new circuit.

But Norman has not given up.

In a letter he sent Tuesday to players and obtained by SI.com/Morning Read, Norman expressed his plan to “offer additional exciting tournaments in which you can play,’’ and stressed that “this is in addition to, not in place of, your current Tour schedule.’’

His letter stated that information about the first events will be shared on Wednesday when a larger announcement is expected.

In October, Norman was named CEO of LIV Golf Investments, which struck a deal with the Asian Tour to commit $300 million over 10 years to help fund a series of events that would offer more and better playing opportunities.

As part of that deal, the Asian Tour agreed to be the sanctioning Tour to the to-be-named LIV Golf league that has yet to announce its business plan but that loosely would include 14 with 48-player fields over 54 holes with no cuts. Purses would be $20 million per week, and there would be a team component with team owners.

Players such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson were among several who were believed to be in serious negotiations with LIV Golf, and expected to receive nine-figure commitments just to sign on. The league would be funded by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

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DeChambeau and Johnson have since backed off, as have several other players who said they would be sticking with the PGA Tour. Mickelson, who has not competed since the Saudi International in early February, announced three weeks ago that he would be taking a leave to deal with personal issues after there was severe pushback to his criticisms of the PGA Tour and trying to gain leverage with LIV Golf Investments.

So far, no players have been announced for the new league, nor has a schedule, but Norman is poised to disclose a few events that will likely be staged with big purses and no league affiliation required.

Last week at the Players Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: “The PGA Tour is moving on. We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners, and most importantly our fans from enjoying the Tour and the game we all love so much.’’

But another plan emerged Tuesday that would integrate alternative formats into the PGA Tour schedule. SI.com/Morning Read obtained a letter that the Premier Golf League sent to the PGA Tour Policy Board last month it which it outlined its plan.

Norman, meanwhile, is pushing on with an alternative idea.

“We consider ourselves a start-up,’’ he said in the letter. “We may start with a modest number of players, but we won’t stay that way for long. I fully understand some players may choose not to play with us right away. But after we get going, I believe many of those who aren’t with us now will be with us later. I want to thank you for your patience, but know, it will be worth your while.’’

Norman said in the letter that his concept has “always been designed in deference to the majors and heritage championships. LIV Golf has been consistent in its desire to complement the annual tour schedules and wider golf ecosystem. From the beginning, we designed this so players have the choice to play any tour, and in LIV Golf events, and actively encourage you to do so. We will not ask you to choose one or the other. This is in addition to, not in place of, your current Tour schedule.’’

Norman added: “You should know that we are launching, and we will continue to drive this vision forward. We will not stop. We believe in our mission and will announce information about our first events (Wednesday).’’

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