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LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman was noticed on the grounds of Augusta Nationwide on Wednesday, a 12 months after the Australian was publicly snubbed by The Masters organisers.
Norman, who gained two Opens throughout his enjoying profession and completed tied for second at The Masters on three events within the Eighties has been the general public face of the management of the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.
Whereas all of the heads of the world’s fundamental golf Excursions had been invited final 12 months, Norman was not included on the visitor record, a choice which he had described as “petty”.
However the 69-year-old was noticed among the many crowd at Wednesday’s apply session by the Washington Submit who mentioned he was there as a ticketed spectator.
Norman’s pugnacious management of LIV, who’ve recruited plenty of high stars from the established PGA Tour, has made him a divisive determine however he mentioned he had acquired a heat welcome from followers.
“Strolling round right here at the moment, there’s not one one who mentioned to me, ‘Why did you do LIV?’ ” he advised the Submit.
“There’s been lots of of individuals, even safety guys, stopping me, saying, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is unbelievable.’ To me, that tells you that what we’ve got and the platform suits throughout the ecosystem, and it’s good for the sport of golf,” he added.
On his stroll across the grounds, Norman stopped to speak with Australian participant Min Woo Lee, who performs on the PGA Tour.
There are 13 gamers from the LIV circuit enjoying in The Masters this week together with defending champion Jon Rahm of Spain.
Final 12 months, Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership chairman Fred Ridley mentioned that Norman had not been invited as a result of he would have been a distraction in the course of the event.
“We didn’t lengthen an invite to Mr Norman. The first concern and the motive force there’s that I would like the main target this week to be on The Masters competitors, on the good gamers which can be collaborating, the best gamers on this planet,” he mentioned.
Ridley struck a extra conciliatory tone throughout his handle to the media on Wednesday and the temper has shifted throughout the sport since June’s ‘framework settlement’ between the PGA Tour and LIV.
Additionally noticed strolling the course on Wednesday was John Henry, proprietor of the Boston Purple Sox baseball workforce and Premier League soccer membership Liverpool.
Henry is principal proprietor of Fenway Sports activities Group and supervisor of the Strategic Sports activities Group which has entered into a significant settlement with the PGA Tour.
In March, Henry was one in every of plenty of traders from SSG who invested $1.5-billion to create PGA Tour Enterprises, a for-profit wing of the Tour which goals to develop new business alternatives.
© Agence France-Presse
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