LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said that the new breakaway tour, backed by Saudi Arabia investors, will apply Monday to have its competitors earn Official World Golf Rankings points, ESPN reported.
On Saturday, in an interview on Fox News, Norman revealed his intentions to have the tour’s players earn points to keep them eligible to play in major tournaments like the U.S. Open, which is being contested this weekend at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
“We’re actually applying for OWGR points right now. We’re actually putting in our application probably over the weekend, if not Monday,” Norman said. “And it’s a very compelling application. We’ve worked very, very closely with the technical committee understanding all the components of what you need to apply for it.”
Norman did point out that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is on the OWGR board. After Monahan had critical comments about LIV Golf in a live interview on NBC this weekend, Norman wondered if Monahan would recuse himself when it comes to the approval process for LIV Golf.
Norman has continually shot back at the PGA Tour, even though his tour has taken many of its players from the competing circuit. He continued the criticism of the PGA Tour on Sunday sounding incredulous that the PGA Tour is not willing to work in some sort of unity with LIV Golf.
Much of the criticism of LIV Golf centers on the involvement of Saudi Arabia investors and the country’s abhorrent human rights record.
“If they want to look at it in prism, then why does the PGA Tour have 23 sponsors doing $40-plus billion worth of business with Saudi Arabia?” Norman said. “Why is it okay for the sponsors? Will Jay Monahan go to each and every one of those CEOs of the 23 companies that are investing into Saudi Arabia and suspend them and ban them? The hypocrisy in all this, it’s so loud. It’s deafening.”
LIV Golf already has contested one event at London earlier this month, won by Charl Schwartzel. Its next event is scheduled June 30-July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Ore., just outside of Portland.
–Field Level Media