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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
LIV Golf League CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said last week’s addition of Spain’s Jon Rahm, the third-ranked golfer in the world, is validation of the circuit’s 54-hole format that incorporates individual and team golf.
Norman, speaking to ESPN from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday morning, said several players have contacted LIV Golf League officials to inquire about the remaining spots on a team that Rahm will captain.
“I think word is getting out there amongst all the players around the world, even the top players, the best players in the world,” Norman said. “They love our format, they love our platform, they love the team spirit, the team atmosphere. And to be honest with you, I’ve seen it resonate very, very loudly this year. And obviously, Jon is an incredible addition to us.”
Norman said about eight to 12 players are in the running for two or three available spots on the LIV Golf League roster. On Monday, Tony Finau announced on social media that he plans to return to the PGA Tour in 2024. There was speculation that Finau might be considering a move to LIV Golf.
Rahm, the reigning Masters champion, signed a multiyear deal worth more than $300 million, according to sources.
“I’ll be honest with you, since Jon signed, I know he’s been inundated by players saying, ‘I want to play on your team, Jon. How do I get on that?'” Norman said. “And I have been inundated and my other team members, too, my C-suite within the organization. I can tell you, hand on my heart, between eight and 12 guys for about two or three spots and maybe two spots, to be honest with you.”
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is financing the LIV Golf League, which starts its third season at Mayakoba in Mexico from Feb. 2-4. On June 6, the PIF signed a framework agreement with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to combine their commercial properties, including LIV Golf. The framework agreement has a Dec. 31 deadline.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was scheduled to meet with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s governor, this week. The PGA Tour’s policy board notified players in a memo on Sunday that it was continuing negotiations to form a partnership with Strategic Sports Group, a conglomerate of U.S.-based investors led by Fenway Sports Group, and was continuing its talks with PIF officials.
Norman told ESPN that the LIV Golf League would continue as a “standalone entity,” regardless of what happens with the PGA Tour/PIF alliance.
“I’m not involved with that framework agreement at all,” Norman said. “I’m over here looking after LIV and running LIV, but it’s great to see private equity coming into the game of golf and investing in the game of golf. I hope it does take place in some way, shape or form. It’s to the betterment of the players.
“As a former player, I’m all about the independent players’ rights. I’m all about the players being able to earn more money and go where they need to go to earn more money or even stay somewhere to earn more money, and you’re seeing that now. So, I do hope that some agreement in some way, shape or form comes about, about private equity investing into golf. We’ve got it. Hopefully, it takes place in other institutions as well.”
The original framework agreement between the PGA Tour and PIF gave Monahan authority to determine LIV Golf’s future. During his testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in July, PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price told senators that if the tour and the PIF reached an agreement, Norman’s position would be eliminated.
“We would no longer have a requirement for that type of position,” Price said.
Norman said Price’s comment was unfounded and described it as “white noise.” Norman said he hasn’t spoken to Monahan since the framework agreement was announced more than six months ago.
“I’m still sitting here,” Norman said. “I still have the support of my investor, and it is what it is. People can say what they want to say without having any knowledge of the outcome.”
When the LIV Golf League released most of its 2024 schedule last month, it didn’t include tournaments at clubs owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump’s courses in Sterling, Virginia; Bedminster, New Jersey; and Miami hosted five LIV Golf events in the circuit’s first two seasons, including the team and individual championships in 2022 and 2023.
LIV Golf didn’t identify sites for a March tournament in Saudi Arabia and an April 5-7 tournament in the U.S. in last month’s announcement. Details of the season-ending individual and team championships also weren’t disclosed.
When Norman was asked why his circuit wasn’t going to make a stop at a Trump course in 2024, he told ESPN, “I didn’t know that was the case.”
When Norman was asked if LIV Golf would indeed play at a Trump course next year, he said, “You’ll have to wait and see.”