Greg Norman says he has been requested to not attend the QBE Shootout in December, a PGA Tour-sanctioned occasion he began in 1989 because the Shark Shootout that’s held on the Tiburon Golf Membership course he designed.
It was not clear who requested that he not attend the December Sept. 11 match. The match director says it was a collective resolution.
Norman, who’s in Washington to fulfill with members of Congress about his Saudi-funded LIV Golf collection, revealed the information in an Instagram put up late Tuesday afternoon with out saying who was behind it.
‘Why one would possibly ask? Maybe it’s as a result of I’m serving to to present golf a brand new heartbeat, creating new worth and delivering a brand new product that’s liked by gamers, followers and broadcasters alike,’ Norman stated.
‘And in doing so, lastly giving gamers their rights as unbiased contractors to learn from their efficiency and model.
‘In some individuals’s thoughts that is too disruptive and evolution is perceived as a foul factor. I disagree – competitors breeds excellence.’
Greg Norman says he has been requested to not attend the QBE Shootout in December
The QBE Shootout was the primary of the PGA Tour’s unofficial season late within the 12 months to lift greater than $1million for childhood most cancers, a determine he says now tops $15m. It’s comprised of 12 two-player groups competing in varied codecs.
Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na are the defending champions. They won’t return this 12 months as a result of the PGA Tour suspended the gamers who signed with LIV Golf, and the QBE Shootout is a tour-sanctioned match.
Whereas Norman says he was requested to not attend, he later says within the Instagram put up that the cash raised for charities is most essential to him.
‘As such, I’ve determined to not attend this 12 months’s occasion so the main target can stay on the missions at hand,’ he stated.
Rob Hartman, the match director, informed The Naples Every day Information it was a mutual resolution.
‘As we bought shut, finally the choice was made that he was going to step again and actually let the main target stay on our large charitable companions,’ Hartman stated.
Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na (above) will not be defending their titles as they’re a part of LIV as properly
‘When he began this occasion 34 years in the past, it was all about charity then, and it is all about charity now. Greg simply made the choice that he didn´t need something to distract from that.’
Norman additionally was requested by the Royal & Historic Golf Membership this summer time to not attend the festivities surrounding the one hundred and fiftieth British Open at St. Andrews due to the distraction created by LIV Golf, which has paid huge sums to PGA Tour gamers equivalent to Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau to defect to the rival league.
Golf has been within the headlines for months following the introduction of the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway league, rivaling the standard PGA Tour within the males’s sport.
The occasion is supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF). It has led to gamers going through criticism for participating in it because of the kingdom’s dismal human rights document, whereas detractors have additionally labeled the competitors as ‘sportwashing’.
Norman appears on in the course of the closing spherical of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Membership final 12 months
Justin Thomas took a swipe at LIV Golf defectors as rebels proceed their push to have world rating factors accessible to the breakaway tour.
On Tuesday, all 48 LIV Golf gamers co-signed a letter to the chairman of the Official World Golf Rating, Peter Dawson, pleading for golf’s rating physique to acknowledge the breakaway collection, claiming their current system is ‘undermined’ and ‘invalid’ with out them.
‘Each week that passes with out the inclusion of LIV athletes undermines the historic worth of OWGR,’ the letter learn.
‘We name on you to render a constructive resolution shortly – for the advantage of the integrity of the rankings, the sport and all of us who love the game.’
PGA Tour’s Justin Thomas took a swipe at LIV Golf defectors amid the game’s ongoing civil conflict
Thomas, who addressed the letter in entrance of the media earlier than the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hole, was usually dismissive of the sport’s breakaway stars, together with Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia.
Thomas, a two-time main champion, stated: ‘I imply, I do not perceive.
‘It’s extremely apparent and written proper there in entrance of them. They simply naturally need what’s greatest for them, similar to the choice they made to go there.
‘I completely perceive. Hey, if I used to be doing the identical state of affairs, I’d need it, however that does not essentially make it proper.
‘The governing our bodies have created a system for a cause, and that is to attempt to create the most effective system attainable to find out the most effective gamers on this planet.’
