On Wednesday, LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, was spotted walking the fairways at Augusta National, with the Australian seen greeting Min Woo Lee as players prepped for the first Major of the year.
The appearance was quite the shock for most and, following the sighting, the two-time Major winner gave a quick interview to the Washington Post, claiming that those in attendance had been positive towards him.
"Walking around here today, there’s not one person who said to me, 'Why did you do LIV?'" Norman said whilst out on the course. "There’s been hundreds of people, even security guys, stopping me, saying, 'Hey, what you’re doing is fantastic.' To me, that tells you that what we have and the platform fits within the ecosystem, and it’s good for the game of golf."
Coming into the Masters, one of the big talking points has been the number of LIV golfers who are missing out on the first Major of the year. Talor Gooch, who claimed LIV's individual title in 2023, told Australian Golf Digest that, if "Rory McIlroy wins The Masters his achievement could be diminished without the world’s best in the field."
Along with Gooch, Dean Burmester held off a number of Major challengers to win LIV Golf Miami and, in the case of Norman, the LIV Golf CEO claims that: "There’s probably a couple that have been overlooked that should be in."
He went on to add: "What is that number? I’m not going to give it a definitive number, but they’re definitely quality players that have done incredible performances over the last six to nine months that are worthy of it.”
Beginning on Thursday, Scottie Scheffler is the heavy favourite to pick up a second Masters title, following two wins and a runner-up showing in his last three events. Amongst the LIV roster, Jon Rahm will be hoping to defend his Masters title, whilst Joaquin Niemann is enjoying a superb run of form as he looks for a first Major scalp.
