Greg Norman breaks silence after Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf U-turn claims

Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf, has responded to recent claims that Jon Rahm regrets his decision to join the Saudi-backed golf series and is eager to return to the PGA Tour. These claims emerged following a report from Golf Digest, which suggested that Rahm would gladly forfeit his £450 million contract with LIV Golf to regain his status on the PGA Tour. An anonymous source quoted in the report stated, “I am 100 percent positive that if Jon could give the money back to the Saudis and come back to the tour, he couldn’t write the check fast enough.”

This speculation comes just eight months after Rahm, a former world No. 1, signed a record-breaking deal with LIV Golf, which effectively ended his association with the PGA Tour. Despite this, Rahm has seen success in the LIV series, earning over £10.5 million in prize money and securing his first LIV title at the LIV Golf UK event at JCB Golf and Country Club just last month.

In response to the rumors, Norman addressed the claims during the second round of the LIV Golf event at Greenbrier. He dismissed the reports, stating, “I read an article yesterday about how Jon is so unhappy here [LIV Golf] and that he wants to give back his money. It’s just not true. You speak to Jon’s general manager, it’s like laughable. I just truly don’t get it. I truly don’t get the divide.”

Norman also commented on the ongoing tension between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, despite efforts to negotiate a peace agreement between the two parties, including discussions involving the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Over a year has passed since an initial framework agreement was proposed, yet no final deal has been reached. Addressing this, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan provided an update ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs, acknowledging the complexity of the discussions but expressing optimism about the ongoing talks. “They’re very complicated discussions,” Monahan said. “There’s a lot of elements to them. When you have the level of interaction, we’re continuing to meet and move forward and discuss and debate, you can’t be anything but hopeful. As it relates to times and timeframes and where we are, I’ll just say we’re in a good place with the conversations. That’s the most important thing.”

Norman, in his remarks, emphasized the ongoing division between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, questioning why such a divide persists despite LIV’s efforts to integrate into the broader golfing ecosystem. “The division is still there when we are actually showing how we do work within the ecosystem and how the ecosystem is accepting us and how the people are speaking out there,” Norman stated. “I just don’t understand why it is this way. It tells you there is some deep-seated something there. But we are going to keep plowing through it and stay true to ourselves.”

The situation highlights the continuing struggles and negotiations within the world of professional golf, as LIV Golf and the PGA Tour navigate their complicated relationship.