LIV CEO Greg Norman shows up and ruins the Masters ... at least, for a day

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Everything was going along so nicely. Then Greg Norman arrived.

For those of you unfamiliar with Norman’s current profile in professional golf, he’s not just the CEO of the Saudi-backed LIV Tour. There’s more. He’s the single most divisive element in the rivalry between LIV and the PGA Tour. He is shunned by the club he founded, the Medalist near Jupiter, Fla., now an enclave for pro golf’s elite. He was a flop after just one year as a TV analyst for Fox Sports.

He’s the obnoxious uncle that nobody wants to show up at Thanksgiving. The Masters is golf’s Thanksgiving. Greg Norman showed up on Wednesday, Thanksgiving eve.

According to his son, Greg Jr., Norman begged Augusta National officials for a pass for Wednesday’s practice round. They refused. He had to buy a ticket on the secondary market, just like you and me.

Once inside, preening about in his trademark white straw hat, the Great White Shark made sure everybody saw him.

Because, for Norman, that’s all that matters. Not supporting the 13 LIV golfers in the field, as he claimed. Not burnishing his legacy as one of golf’s most accomplished players.

No. The only thing that matters to Norman is Norman. Always was. Always will be.

Augusta National used to welcome Norman to the tournament. After all, he played in 23 Masters, won two major tournaments, and spent 331 weeks as the world’s No. 1 golfer, second all-time only to Tiger Woods. However, the club pointedly did not invite Norman to the 2023 Masters, the first Masters after LIV commenced in 2022, because, said club chairman Fred Ridley, “I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating.”

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Ridley very pointedly did not want the focus to be on the animosity between the tours, which, at that point, involved lawsuits challenging the validity of the PGA and European tours banning, fining, and suspending LIV members. A year later the Saudis’ Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour are negotiating a partnership. The lawsuits have been dropped. Defending Masters champion Jon Rahm, one of golf’s most popular players, joined LIV in December. Even LIV pariah Phil Mickelson seems at peace with the ongoing cease-fire.

Then the Shark entered the waters.

The Washington Post caught up with Norman on Wednesday.

“I’m here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them,” Norman told the Post. “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.’”

Really?

He thinks Brooks Koepka, who won five major championships and finished second here last year, needs the support of a two-time major winner who, at the 1996 Masters, authored one of golf’s greatest collapses?

» READ MORE: Tiger Woods, 48 and hobbled, can’t win a sixth Masters, but he can make the cut. Should be enough.

He’s more likely to provide distraction than support.

He thinks past Masters champions and raving egotists Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, and Mickelson need to know “the boss” is rooting for them?

Notably, none of the 13 LIV players supplied “the boss” with a ticket. For a practice round.

“The boss” didn’t show up to support them. “The boss” just wants attention. “The boss” is here to gloat.

It’s kind of sad. Rather pathetic. Norman knows he’s neither wanted nor needed, and why. But he couldn’t help himself.

This is why the golf world has turned its back on Greg Norman. This is why LIV does itself a disservice by employing him as its face and its voice. Golf is the world’s most genteel sport, and Norman is a boor.

The Post did not specify whether Norman will remain in Augusta or return to the tournament, which is set to begin Thursday. It will be interesting to see, if Norman tries to return, whether Augusta National officials allow him to stay to watch his dwindling troops.

» READ MORE: Augusta National chair Fred Ridley: Caitlin Clark is awesome, but the club won’t host women’s pros

Last year, 18 LIV players participated, but eight of them did not qualify this year. Three players who do qualify joined LIV after last year’s Masters, which brings the number to 13. However, if things remain the same, ever fewer LIV players will qualify.

LIV Tour players cannot earn Official World Golf Ranking points because their tour has no competitive pathway to membership and plays three-day events against the same weak field of competitors with no cuts. Of course, Augusta National, which can invite anyone it pleases, offered Joaquin Niemann, currently LIV’s top player, a special invitation. Ridley said that policy will continue.

The global circuit earned a measure of validation at last year’s Masters, when Koepka’s early lead and Mickelson’s late charge left them tied for second place and Reed tied for fourth.

A month later, Koepka delivered full validation with his win at the PGA Championship.

After Koepka’s PGA win, Norman gloated on Twitter/X: “As for the @livgolf_league players they belong and the Majors and golf knows it.”

Imagine how he’ll gloat Sunday night if a LIV player wins a green jacket.