Golf legend Greg Norman headlines Saudi-backed investment fund ready to turn golf on its head

Greg Norman has a mega-rich investment fund at his disposal as he again looks to shake up the golf establishment - and Australia is central to his plans.

Greg Norman is urging patience and an open mind. The intricate details of his grand plan, and Australia’s place in it, will be revealed soon enough.

What he can, and will say, is that Australia is in thoughts of LIV Golf Investments, the Saudi-backed group that has Norman at the helm, millions in the bank and a desire to shake up the sport.

“It is on our radar screen, it is on our radar screen,” Norman tells News Corp.

Greg Norman says Australia is central to his plans to shake up the game.

“Golf has been great to me, Australian golf put me on the map. Paying it forward in whatever way I can, is important. I will try the best I possibly can to pay it forward in all the places in the world that gave me a chance – that is Australia, that is Asia, that is Europe.

“Anything I do now in my business life touches all the continents around the world. I think the amount of interest I have received personally from corporations and people of interest in Australia has actually been incredible.

“I have a very high degree of confidence in the outcome. Obviously with our investment in the Asian Tour and the Pacific Rim, Australia is a central hub of that to a degree because of close association.

“It is important for me with my history in the game now golf across that whole region ... it is incredibly important to me that I get the best balance I can get in growing and promoting the game of golf in all those countries.”

As well as being chief executive of LIV Golf Investments, Norman will be the commissioner of a Super League-style tour that wants to attract the best players in the world.

Again, Australians will be at the forefront of his mind. The likes of Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Jason Day would no doubt figure in his plans.

The 66-year-old says he has big plans for the future of golf.

So committed is Norman to the project, he will step back from the business empire he has built since retiring from tournament golf.

The 66-year-old has also postponed plans to return to the land of his birth. Norman was knee-deep in mapping his return to Australia when the opportunity came to partner with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

He had sold his house and his ranch. He was ready to come home.

Then opportunity knocked and he made the decision to adjust his schedule.

A return home will have to wait as he channels his energy into ensuring the success of his latest venture.

“Yes, I had sold my house and ranch with the intention of moving (home),” Norman said.

The Great White Shark is prepared for a backlash from the all-powerful PGA Tour.

“Then four or five weeks later I was approached with this job. It took me four to six months to do my due diligence, to try to break the business model. I couldn’t break it.

“Then in August I came on board. Now, I was hoping to get back to Australia. This has delayed my return because I think right now the opportunity for golf, the players, the stakeholders, the fans, it is more important to get this right and do this for the game of golf.

“That is why my absolute, unadulterated passion for the game of golf and belief for where the game of golf could be and should be, told me that you know what, let’s just hang here and get this thing done.”

Norman’s quest to secure the world’s elite golfers for his tournaments has prompted an inevitable backlash from the all-powerful PGA Tour.

Norman and the PGA Tour have history. They clashed over his plans to start a world tour in the 1990s. The difference now is that he has a mega-rich investment fund at his disposal. It is the same body that recently purchased English Premier League club Newcastle for $550 million. The takeover was condemned by the other 19 EPL clubs, who said it damaged the brand of the competition due to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

The US PGA Tour has similarly railed against Norman’s plan and threatened sanctions against players should they become involved. That didn’t stop 25 high-profile players confirming they would play in the 2022 Saudi International. Among their numbers was Scott.

Norman won two majors.

There has been talk that Norman’s group is also eyeing off the Australian Open, although Norman insists it has not been spoken about. That said, Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland has said he is open to a conversation.

Australasian PGA Tour chief executive Gavin Kirkman has already held talks with Norman’s group – he is reluctant to go into details of their conversations given he signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Needless to say, he is also open to having further conversations. Asked specifically about the Australian Open, Norman said: “We haven’t even discussed internally anything about the Australian Open. That is just media, that is fake news.

“The intent and our interest in Australia is obviously extremely high, Reinvigorating is probably the right word.

“I know we have seen a hard slog down there with the pandemic and Covid – and even before that quite honestly, looking back in time you can actually see the decline.”

As for talks with Australian officials, Norman said: “They have signed an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). I am glad they did because the information you have under an NDA is totally different to some of the information that some of the media is trying to spin out there, and obviously some of the tours out there.

Adam Scott is sure to be a Norman target.

“The perception and the reality are two different things. When people sign the NDA and we walk them through it and they understand exactly what is underneath our business model … they are extremely impressed.

“There is not one person, one corporation, not anybody who says this is a stupid idea. This is a testament to two things – it is a testament to the business model … and it is a testament to their belief in the players’ rights to do what they want to do.

“I guess it is also a testament to the huge, unlocked potential that golf can deliver on a global basis.”

For the most part during our 20-minute conversation, Norman is focused on the future. There is, however, a clear antipathy towards the US PGA Tour that has only been inflamed in recent weeks by their reaction to his plans.

“You only have to look at what the PGA Tour has done in Australia,” Norman said.

“They bring the Presidents Cup down every four or six years, come in there, suck it dry and leave.

“It is not like you’re building an education system or support structure around it. When we do come public with everything, you will eventually see our outreach on a global basis.

“Soon, it will be soon. Stay tuned.”

‘It doesn’t worry me’: Norman ‘pities’ his detractors

Greg Norman stands accused of prioritising money over morals.

Critics of the Australian golfing legend would have you believe his involvement with the Saudi Investment Fund makes him an accomplice to ‘sportwashing’, where countries with questionable human rights records use high-profile athletes and events to generate positive publicity.

Norman insists he doesn’t take the criticism personally. If anything, he says he feels sorry for those who have taken aim — and there are plenty of them — since news emerged of his plans to take on the establishment armed with upwards of $200 million of Saudi money.

“It doesn’t worry me,” Norman told News Corp.

Greg Norman hit out at his accusors, saying ‘they don’t know the facts’.

“People who make judgments on other people without knowing the facts and the information, they only harm themselves quite honestly.

“People develop a resentment against people for whatever reason they choose to have. I don’t hold a grudge against them — I feel sorry for them to tell you the truth.

“They don’t know the facts. In the world you are free to voice your opinion, but make sure you understand the components of it before you sling names around.

“I really do feel sorry for guys like that because they are not really doing their profession any good. They are not picking up the phone and talking about it.

“They would rather cut and paste from other people’s articles.”

Saudi Arabia has a disturbing human rights record and while the sovereign fund claims to be run independently, it is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. His regime stands accused of heinous acts against dissidents and degradation of women.

Norman insists he did his due diligence before agreeing to jump into bed with the SIF. He has been to Saudi Arabia and says he is comfortable with what he has seen, even if it would appear to fly in the face of respected organisations such as Amnesty International.

In his defence, he points to Australia’s own human rights record and the historical treatment of Indigenous people.

“I go on my observations and what I know and have seen with my own eyes,” he said.

“Unless you have been on the ground in Saudi Arabia and seen the massive effort they have made to achieve equality …

Norman with Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman at a pro-am in 2014.

“Look, every country has a cross to bear. Every country. If you look at the past forever, then you are focusing on the wrong thing.

“If you look at the past and look at what was wrong and fix it going forward — God bless every country that has done that.

“Australia has done wonders with its Indigenous people. We have done wonders about (learning from) the past to get to where we are today.

“I admire countries that do that. If you look at the investment that has come into the rest of the world (from the SIF), is it Wall Street washing, it is Hollywood washing when they go into Hollywood?

“They invest into business. They want a rate of return. They are not giving the money away and saying here take it because we want to change our image.

“They are investing into a business. They expect an ROI (Return on Investment) on this investment. We will deliver an ROI for them.”