Greg Norman has insisted the top golf stars will still join his Saudi-backed rebel tour despite a number of leading players rejecting the notion so far.
Norman, 67, is fronting the LIV Invitational series, which has already announced eight new lucrative tournaments. The first of those events will take place at the Centurion Club in St Albans in June, just before the US Open.
A 28-man field will compete for a $25m purse, with both individual and team rewards on offer. The tour is set to reveal the 'marquee names' to have joined, with the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Bubba Watson heavily linked with signing up.
However, the likes of Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka have pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour, while Rory McIlroy has vociferously condemned the venture. He labelled it "dead it in the water" after also confirming he wouldn't be participating.
Six-time major champion Phil Mickleson has proved a divisive figure over the issue, initially accusing the PGA Tour of "obnoxious greed" after it threatened to prevent players who signed up from playing Major championships. However, he then somewhat contradicted his argument by labelling the Saudi state "scary motherf*****s" in light of the country's human rights record.
Mickleson has since taken an indefinite break from golf, and was absent from last week's Masters at Augusta, which was comfortably won by world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The controversy hasn't deterred Norman though, who believes the money on offer will soon ensure the top players change their minds. In an interview with The Telegraph , he said of the Centurion Club tournament: "Quite honestly it doesn’t matter who plays, we’re going to put the event on.
“There’s a $4m first prize. I hope a kid who’s 350th in the world wins. It’ll change his life, his family’s life." And 'The Great White Shark' thinks that notion will soon get the ball rolling.
"And then a few of our events will go by and the top players will see someone winning $6m, $8m, and say: ‘Enough is enough, I know I can beat these guys week-in-week-out with my hands tied behind my back.'"
'The Great White Shark', who as a player won the Open Championship twice also implied there has been considerable more interest in the venture than what was being portrayed: "We have players signed, contrary to the white noise you're hearing out there," he said.
"The interest level we’ve had, well, I had a player who's won a couple of major championships sitting in my very office here 48 hours ago." The debate surrounding Saudi Arabia's involvement in sport has delved wider than golf in recent times.
Last month, the F1 Grand Prix in the country was overshadowed by a missile attack just miles from the track, with Lewis Hamilton among the most vocal to oppose races being held in the country.
