Rob Hartman – the tournament director of the QBE Shootout – says LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman agreed to step back from his hosting duties of the co-sanctioned PGA Tour event.
Harman’s comments appear to contradict that of the 67-year-old Australian, who has spearheaded LIV Golf since its inception.
Now LIV have truly established themselves on the golf scene, pinching the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith.
In September, Norman posted an explosive statement on his Instagram page where he revealed that after 33 years of playing and hosting the silly season event in Naples, Florida, he was asked not to attend.
The divisive figure previously was disinvited to the past champions’ festivities in July before the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.
The R&A chief executive, Martin Slumbers, later clapped back at Norman’s lashing out at the governing body, telling Golf Digest:
“It was clear to me that Greg hadn’t been to a champion’s dinner in quite some time. He wasn’t there in 2000, 2005, 2010 or 2015. With everything that was going on, it was clear to me that there was a reason why he wanted to be there this year.
“If he had been there, it would have been about noise. The Open has to be distinct from all that. I didn’t want to have noise between two rival tours and two big personalities. It would have overshadowed what was happening that week .”
Norman has claimed he is helping give golf “a new heartbeat” after “finally” giving players their rights as “independent contractors to benefit from their performance and brand.”
See his full post here:
Now Hartman has told the media the decision to exclude Norman was collaborative, adding:
“We sat down months and months ago with him and our corporate partners. We had several discussions. The decision was made for Greg to step back and really allow the focus to be on our charitable partners.”
Hartman’s comments come as Norman has been accused of previously using the QBE Shootout as a means to woo potential LIV Golf recruits.
Read more about that here
The defending champions of the QBE Shootout are Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na, who both now play in the LIV Golf League.
Next page: Nine players who changed their mind about LIV Golf
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