DISBELIEF AT NORMAN’S GAFFE OVER KHASHOGGI
Fierce reaction to comment of ‘we’ve all made mistakes’ as the former world number one defends lucrative new Saudi-backed rival tour
Greg Norman sparked a reaction of astonishment in batting away concerns over Saudi Arabia’s rights record and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by saying “we’ve all made mistakes” as he defended his new cash-rich golf tour.
The Australian former world number one is heading the new multimillion-dollar LIV Golf Invitational Series, heavily backed by Saudi financing but facing accusations of “sportswashing”.
A United States intelligence assessment found the Gulf kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “approved” an operation to capture or kill critic and columnist Khashoggi.
Saudi officials deny this and say his murder and dismemberment in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018 – which sparked worldwide outrage – was a “rogue” operation.
“This whole thing about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi and human rights, talk about it, but also talk about the good that the country is doing in changing its culture,” Norman said when grilled by reporters about Saudi involvement in the series, which starts in England next month.
“Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn by those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward,” the 67-year-old added.
British sports writer Martyn Ziegler called it an “astonishing comment” while reporter Tariq Panja, of The New York Times,
seemed in disbelief. “He really said this,” Panja wrote in a tweet including Norman’s “we’ve all made mistakes” line.
Golf writer Eamon Lynch added: “Just when you thought Greg Norman’s shilling for murderers couldn’t get any more contemptible.”
Jack Crosby of CBS Sports wrote: “All right, everyone, I think it’s time we stop talking to Greg Norman. Let’s just not do that any more.”
USA Today reporter Mike Freeman called Norman’s take “absolute despicable trash” while Brian Wacker of the New York Post
said: “An amazing quote here ... and by amazing I mean Greg Norman is becoming more reprehensible by the day.”
The LIV series is threatening to tear golf apart.
Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson and former world number one Lee Westwood are among the high-profile players who want to be released from established tours to play the opening tournament near London.
The 54-hole event at Centurion Club in St Albans boasts an eye-watering prize fund of US$25 million.
But the US PGA Tour refuses to give its players permission to take part and those who go ahead and play in the June 9-11 event would be deemed to be in violation of Tour regulations, opening the door to suspension or exclusion.
Britain’s The Daily Telegraph reported that officials on the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, had followed their US counterparts by taking a similar stance.
Mickelson has not played since triggering uproar in February following the publication of remarks made last year concerning the new series.
The 51-year-old described the Saudi financial backers of the series as “scary” with a “horrible record on human rights”, but said he was willing to deal with them to gain leverage to “reshape” the PGA Tour.
Mickelson subsequently apologised for the comments and said he was taking some “desperately needed time away” from golf.
I think it’s time we stop talking to Greg Norman. Let’s just not do it any more
JACK CROSBY, CBS SPORTS
Norman, chief executive of LIV Golf Investments, accused the PGA Tour of “perpetuating its illegal monopoly of what should be a free and open market”.
“The Tour’s action is antigolfer, anti-fan and anticompetitive,” he said after the PGA Tour refused to give permission to its golfers to play.
“But no matter what obstacles the Tour puts in our way we will not be stopped. We will continue to give players options that promote the great sport of golf globally.
“No tour owns the game of golf and we feel we’re on the right side of history.”
With the LIV series offering purses of US$25 million per tournament – each leg is more lucrative than the richest event on the PGA Tour, and about double the prize money of each of golf’s four majors.
The first year of the rival league will feature eight tournaments across three continents, with players competing as individuals and in teams.