Greg Norman was spotted walking the grounds at Augusta National ahead of the 2024 Masters on Wednesday, and many wondered if that meant tournament officials have changed their stance on “The Shark” attending the prestigious event. Apparently that is not the case.
Norman has not attended a Masters since he covered the event for SiriusXM in 2021. Not long after that, Norman was named the CEO of LIV Golf. He has since become public enemy No. 1 to opponents of the Saudi-backed league. Last year, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed that Norman was not invited to the event in hopes that Norman’s absence would help keep the focus on the competition.
According to Norman’s son, Greg Norman Jr., the two-time major champion was not invited this year, either. Norman Jr. confirmed a Washington Post report that his father purchased tickets to Wednesday’s practice round at Augusta along with two fellow LIV executives.
“My dad paid for a ticket on the secondary market to attend the Masters as a patron. He was denied one directly after going through the proper professional channels,” Norman Jr. said in a post on X. “He had to be there anyway to support the LIV players.
“It was an amazing experience; hundreds of golf fans approached him walking outside the ropes. All positive support of him and LIV. Not one person said anything negative to him.
“And this is exactly the point of me posting this: we have received a lot of hate over the years, but this stems from financially incentivized opposing parties or bottom-of-the-barrel sociopathic online trolls. The vast majority of folks we run into are positive, encouraging, fans of LIV, or simply fans of golf.”
The elder Norman told the Washington Post that he did not encounter one patron at Augusta National who had an issue with him being there.
“I’m here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them,” the 69-year-old said. “So I’m here just to support them, do the best I can to show them, ‘Hey, you know, the boss is here rooting for you.’”
Norman has publicly feuded with the PGA Tour and some of its most prominent members. The hostility between LIV and the PGA Tour has dissipated since the two entities announced last year that they are merging, though nothing has been finalized on that front.
In any event, Norman had to buy his way into the 2024 Masters like any wealthy person would.
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