Greg Norman once talked about playing in the British Open next week. Now he does not even get to attend the dinner at St Andrews for past champions.
Norman, who won the Open at Turnberry in 1986 and at Royal St George’s in 1993, would have been eligible for the four-hole “Celebration of Champions” exhibition that takes place only at St Andrews, along with the Champions’ Dinner.
The R&A on Saturday said it contacted Norman to tell him that “we decided not to invite him to attend on this occasion.”
Photo: AFP
“The 150th Open is an extremely important milestone for golf and we want to ensure that the focus remains on celebrating the championship and its heritage,” said R&A, the governing body for golf outside of the US and Mexico. “Unfortunately, we do not believe that would be the case if Greg were to attend.”
Norman has been viewed as a disruptor in golf as CEO of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series that is paying as much as US$150 million to sign former major champions such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, and staging 54-hole events with a shotgun start that pay US$25 million in prize money.
The PGA Tour has suspended players who have signed up for the rebel league, and the European tour is fining its players ￡100,000 (US$120,295) for each LIV event they play.
Norman described the decision as “petty” to Australian Golf Digest.
“I’m disappointed. I would have thought the R&A would have stayed above it all given their position in world golf,” he said. It is “petty, as all I have done is promote and grow the game of golf globally, on and off the golf course, for more than four decades.”
Norman already rubbed the R&A the wrong way with an interview earlier this year with Australia-based News Corp, in which he said he was filling out his entry form for the 150th Open and “I think I can still get in.”
It led the R&A to issue a statement.
“We have no plans for any additional exemptions,” it said.
The R&A did not deny exemptions for eligible players, following the decision of the US Golf Association for the US Open because of the open nature of their majors.
There are 23 players in the field at St Andrews who played in the last LIV Golf event.
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