Is civil war with Norman’s rebel tour over? Adam Scott is still unsure

Adam Scott, one of the most influential players in shaping world golf’s future, admitted he’s still unsure whether the agreement to end the sport’s civil war will be formalised before the end of the year.

Australia’s lone Masters winner, Scott, who is the peer-voted president of the PGA Tour’s players’ advisory council, said private-equity investment remains an option for the US-based tour.

The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which props up Greg Norman’s LIV Golf, signed a stunning framework agreement in June to end litigation with the intention of forming a new professional entity to run the men’s professional sport.

The deal is supposed to be consummated by December 31.

On the same day one of LIV Golf’s stars hailed the impact Norman has had on him personally, Scott confessed he remained in the dark about whether the most tumultuous period in men’s professional golf history would close later this year.

Rory McIlroy has now walked away from the PGA Tour’s policy board, and Scott said he was “somewhat surprised” his new teammate in the made-for-television simulator league has turned his back on the top table that will eventually vote on the deal.

Former Masters winner Adam Scott during Wednesday’s Pro-Am at Royal Queensland.Credit: Getty

“I heard that he was ready to step down earlier in the year, but he stayed and saw the year out,” Scott said.

“Like his statement [said], I haven’t talked to him about it since then, but he feels like he’s got other priorities and he’s giving a lot of time everywhere and he couldn’t give the time to this any more. In one way that’s being responsible rather than holding a board seat and not being engaged.

“It’s really hard to know if the deal’s going to go through or not. As everyone knows, there’s four or five other parties interested in investing in the PGA Tour like PIF.

“So management have a lot of work to do to get some final deals on the table so the board can have a look at it and see if there’s a deal that is good for everyone.”

Scott will try to win his third Australian PGA Championship when it begins at Royal Queensland on Thursday, a field which has been boosted by the inclusion of Chile’s former world No.15 Joaquin Niemann.

Niemann and Australia’s Cameron Smith are two of the brightest stars on the breakaway league, and with Norman’s position uncertain under any potential PGA Tour and PIF union, the 25-year-old was confident Norman still had much to offer.

“He really believes in LIV and I think everybody that’s there believes in the project - at least I do,” Niemann said. “It’s nice to be by the side of Greg Norman, somebody that for so many years dominated in this game and he’s a big influence for the sport.

“It’s nice to see him around every week at the league events answering questions and he’s there for us for anything we need. So that’s pretty cool.”

Documents made public at a US Senate hearing into the framework agreement said the PGA Tour had asked for Norman to be sacked as part of any united sport.

Niemann has travelled to Australia vying for valuable rankings points after his position plummeted to 78 due to LIV being blocked from gaining official status.

“I obviously haven’t played this tournament yet, but seeing the course, I kind of like it,” Niemann said. “You’ve got to be pretty good out of the second shot, pretty accurate on the shots to the green because the greens are a little bit small and there’s a lot of slopes.”

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.