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Greg Norman has reignited his mantle war with Tiger Woods, claiming the 15-major winner was a PGA “spokesman” ignorant of the reality of LIV Golf.
The breakaway tour and the PGA have been at odds since the former arrived on the scene amid much fanfare and controversy last year.
Funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV Golf relied on nine-figure sums to lure some of the game’s brightest stars away from the PGA Tour, putting more strain on an already acrimonious relationship.
Greg Norman has accused Tiger Woods of being a ‘spokesperson’ for the PGA
In November, Woods suggested that Norman would have to walk away from LIV Golf if there were any prospect of peace between golf’s warring factions.
But the Australian, who serves as chief executive of LIV Golf, responded on Sunday.
‘[Woods] don’t know the facts […] because obviously I’m still here,” Norman said on Fox News’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade.
“I think just making those comments is an indication that he might be a bit of a mouthpiece for the PGA Tour to try to do, for us to create, or create confusion, create it internally within LIV.”
Woods said in November that Norman would have to resign if LIV and the PGA Tour wanted to end their feud and bridge the gap between them.
‘But it’s not happening. We are totally entrenched. We know where we are going. We know what we are doing.
In September, Norman insisted that he had no intention of offering an olive branch to the PGA Tour and LIV’s critics.
Since its inception, the separatist tour has been accused of being a “sportswashing” vehicle for Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Meanwhile, players who have defected to LIV have been vehemently criticized for trading the prestige of playing in prestigious tournaments like the Ryder Cup for money.
Cameron Smith (left) and Dustin Johnson (right) are two of LIV’s most prominent defectors.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour has hit back by banning dropouts from its tournament, though LIV players can still play in the majors if they meet qualifying criteria.
Norman acknowledged that PIF was the sole sponsor of the tour, but insisted that Saudi Arabia had limited involvement in the making of the tour.
‘PIF is our single source investor. There’s no question about that, there’s no denying about that,’ he said.
‘But it all depends on LIV Golf Investments. It is up to me and my executive team to lead and govern this going forward.”
Norman acknowledged that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which is governed by Yasir Al-Rumayyan (right), was the sole sponsor of LIV Golf, but rejected claims of sport laundering.
The two-time major winner also accused the PGA of hypocrisy, noting that several of its sponsors were major investors in Saudi Arabia.
“There are 23 PGA Tour sponsors investing up to $40 billion in Saudi Arabia,” he continued.
‘Why, why don’t people attack them? So there’s the big question mark as to why they’re attacking our credibility.’
In August, the PGA Tour announced a major revamp of its financial structure, revealing that all players on the tour will receive a minimum salary of $500,000 (AUD $714,000).
Prize money was also increased to keep pace with LIV, with the new average purse now in the region of $20 million (AUD$28.6 million).
Along with Rory McIlroy (left), Woods has been one of LIV Golf’s most vocal critics.
But Woods, who along with Rory McIlroy has been by far LIV’s most prominent critic, admitted that the PGA Tour faced a losing battle trying to match the breakaway tour’s financial might.
“They want to be a world ranking point validated tour and they’re buying tours all over the world and I don’t know what their bottom game is,” he said.
‘It could just be being an official member of the golf ecosystem and being recognized with world ranking points.
‘I think that’s their intended goal. You know, they’ve probably spent close to $2 billion this year. Who’s to say they can’t spend $4 billion or $5 billion next year? We just don’t know. It is an endless pit of money.