Greg Norman Claims He Had An In-Home Meeting With 2022 Major Champion About Joining LIV Golf
LIV Golf has added a few players ahead of its season-opener this Friday, with world No. 35 Thomas Pieters headlining the newcomers, but LIV CEO Greg Norman claims the league could have added a 2022 major champion.
While LIV Golf already has numerous major winners on its roster, adding a player who won one of golf's premier tournaments just last year would boost the Saudi-backed circuit this season.
READ: THE OPEN FOLLOWS THE MASTERS’ LEAD, WILL ALLOW ELIGIBLE PLAYERS TO TEE IT UP AT ROYAL LIVERPOOL
Norman, speaking with the 'People I (Mostly) Admire' podcast, explained that he sat down with a 2022 major champion at his home and surprised the player with the details he shared about LIV Golf.
“I won’t mention this player’s name, but he is a top player. He’s won a Major championship in the last year in 2022. I’ll just put it to you that way," Norman said. "And he asked me to come over, to sit down, and show him what the LIV product was all about. He was willing to sit down and listen. So myself and another one of my executives went over to his house, and we sat there, and we walked him through the presentation.”
"He just sat there and looked at me and goes, ‘Wow, this is nothing like we’ve been told in the locker room.’"
The unnamed player ultimately decided not to jump to LIV Golf, and Norman said he respected that decision wholeheartedly.
Who Was The 2022 Major Champion Norman Spoke With About Joining LIV Golf?
It's worth noting that Norman did not clarify when he held this meeting. It's presumed that he spoke with the player fairly recently after the player won a major in '22, but this meeting may have occurred before the player became a major champion during last year's season.
Seeing as how LIV Golf already signed Cam Smith - the 2022 Open Champion - this leaves just three possible players Norman held this supposed in-home meeting with.
Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Justin Thomas have each pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour, but opinions and goals do change over time, so perhaps one of these three players did want to legitimately weigh their options.
With Thomas being great friends with Tiger Woods and a face of the PGA Tour it's hard to believe he would consider a move to LIV Golf on any level.
Scheffler fits the PGA Tour mold to a tee and had his breakout year in 2022 winning a green jacket and three other PGA Tour titles.
Fitzpatrick earned his first win in the States in the form of a U.S. Open and the Englishman has made it clear that he wants to compete against the best players in the world, which play on the PGA Tour.
It's hard to believe any of these three major champions legitimately considered a move to LIV, but it's professional golf in 2023, it keeps everyone on their toes.
Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris