Greg Norman offers opinion on Tiger Woods rumour after clean break from LIV Golf

Greg Norman says he isn’t sure whether Tiger Woods told R&A officials he would skip the 2022 champions’ dinner at St Andrews ahead of The Open if “The Shark” was on the guest list.

Cast your mind back to July 2022 and the world of men’s professional golf was hit with unprecedented disruption after the launch of the PIF-backed LIV.

LIV had held their inaugural $25m tournament one month prior to the 150th Open at the home of golf.

Norman was trading insults publicly with Rory McIlroy and even Woods used his pre-tournament news conference to criticise the golfers that decided to decamp.

“They’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position,” Woods said.

The Great White Shark, now 70, was also not invited to compete in the celebration of champions or attend the champions dinner before the major began.

R&A officials suggested at the time Norman’s involvement would be an unwelcome distraction.

It came after Norman declared he wanted to play in The Open, despite his exemption expiring.

For his part, Norman – winner of the 1986 and 1993 Open – declared the decision not to be invited to the festivities as “petty”.

“I would have thought the R&A would have stayed above it all given their position in world golf,” he said.

There was also a rumour circulating that Woods had told R&A officials he would not attend the champions’ dinner if Norman was in the room.

LIV’s poster boy, six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, also didn’t attend the dinner.

Now, for the first time, Norman has told GOLF’s Michael Bamberger that he had heard Woods did not want him there.

“But I don’t know that that’s what happened,” he told the publication. “It’s just what I’ve heard.”

“Jay should have listened”

Elsewhere in the interview, Norman said the entire landscape of men’s professional golf would have been different had PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan not responded to LIV Golf “in an emotional way”.

Monahan responded to LIV by indefinitely banning the PGA Tour members who played at Centurion Club.

Brian Rolapp has been named as Monahan’s successor, and Norman believes the changes will be significant under his leadership.

Future plans

Norman announced his official departure from LIV Golf last week.

In January, he was replaced by Scott O’Neil and it was expected Norman would always have a role with the league.

Norman declared LIV “built a movement that changed the game globally” as he closed out an “incredible chapter”.

He also hinted that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Norman said he’ll throw himself back into his work as a golf architect and has a lot of work in Vietnam.

He also hopes the ban on course construction in China will be lifted soon.