“We don’t want it right now, we’ve tried”: LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman on possible talks between LIV and PGA Tour

The PGA Tour-LIV Golf faceoff seems far from over as the two sides have dismissed all chances of peace talks. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan recently addressed the topic and stated that the two series could never coexist. Just a week after that comment, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman expressed a similar opinion.

Greg Norman has been on the receiving end of criticism ever since LIV Golf’s inception. The Australian golfer and businessman is facing heat for starting the rebel league, which has resulted in several players defecting from the PGA Tour. However, Norman believes that his side will be the victim of a conflict between the two series.

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LIV Golf CEO dismisses chances of peace talks with PGA

LIV Golf has faced criticism for multiple reasons, including both moral and financial. The PGA Tour seems to be fighting the Saudi-backed league as it brought record purses to the sport and lured players away from the American circuit. The PGA even went so far as to suspend players associated with LIV, which led to a legal case.

It is safe to say that the bridges between the two series’ have been burnt down, but this wasn’t the case earlier. According to LIV CEO Greg Norman, his side tried to initiate talks with the PGA to settle these issues. However, the attempt failed and all possibilities of the two series’ coexisting has been destroyed.

Now, Norman believes that LIV is being targeted by the American circuit. The LIV CEO was speaking in an interview this week with Piers Morgan, when he said that his side didn’t create the “turmoil.” Norman stated that his league wanted to provide players with more opportunities, something that the PGA opposed. He went on to claim that his side tried for peace talks, but it is now off the table.

Speaking to Piers Morgan about the LIV Golf-PGA Tour debate, Greg Norman said:

“Look, I ultimately believe there will be some merging of the powers to be, just sitting down and having a conversation… We don’t want it right now. We’ve tried. And going back to what you’re saying before, we didn’t create this turmoil. We just came in with another opportunity within the ecosystem for the players, for the fans… We didn’t really start this big fight. We didn’t create this animosity.”

Norman revealed that he foresaw LIV and PGA meetings. He stated that he believed the majors would continue to invite LIV golfers and foresaw the Official World Golf Ranking remaining neutral. Continuing on this subject, he added:

“And with the majors, quite honestly, they should be Switzerland, right. If I’m a major, I want the best of the best in my field… If you’re a broadcaster of any of the four majors, you should be saying to them, we want the LIV players in there, because 26 of the top 100 players, right now, today, are LIV players. OWGR, they’ve got to be, again, Switzerland, because they’re an independent organization. There’s 22 other tour events in this world that get OWGR points. And I can tell you this: 21 of those 22 are inferior to what the LIV tour is all about. So why are we being targeted?”

It should be noted that Greg Norman’s comments came only a week after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan ruled out the chances of a peaceful conversation between the two. Addressing the golf civil war, he stated that the joining of hands for PGA and LIV is “not in the cards.”