Greg Norman gets tough time in Washington D.C over LIV Golf talks

LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman received a frosty reception in Washington D.C on Wednesday as he pitched the issues his tour faces to members of Congress.

As reported by Emily Brooks from The Hill, Representative Chip Roy of Texas pushed Norman on LIV Golf's relationship with Saudi Arabia.

In July, Roy urged the Department of Justice to look into LIV's possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act for not registering links to Saudi.

"Don’t come in here and act like you’re doing some great thing while you’re pimping a billion dollars of Saudi Arabian money and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the United States," Roy said to reporters after the meeting with Norman.

Roy went on to describe Norman's pitch as "PR for Saudi Arabia." The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is the majority shareholder of the controversial new tour, worth up to $600 billion.

Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee reportedly left the meeting because he couldn't understand the 67-year-old's Australian accent and what he presented to the Republican Study Committee was "basically propaganda."

"A bunch of rich guys (are) not gonna play golf somewhere - it doesn’t bother me one bit. The federal government needs to stay out of that and just let these country clubbers handle their own game," Burchett said.

LIV Golf recently attached itself to the antitrust lawsuit that was originally filed against the PGA Tour by 11 players for anticompetitive restraints.

The PGA Tour's reaction to LIV's emergence is the reason for Norman's visit to America's capital. LIV believe its launch has come in "the face of super-competitive costs and artificially reduced access to (players)."

Despite the heavy criticism, the two-time Open champion remained positive after the meetings, claiming he didn't have a tough time with the members of Congress.

Last night, Norman thanked the "100 bipartisan lawmakers" he met on Capitol Hill in a post on social media. He enjoyed "sharing our vision of golf diplomacy."

(Pt.1) To the 100 bipartisan lawmakers I met within the past 24 hours on The Hill: thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to visit and tell LIV Golf’s story.

Freedom of speech & free enterprise form the bedrock of what this country was founded on. Competition is a vital part

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) September 22, 2022

(Pt.2) of the DNA of the USA. Competition breeds excellence. Without competition, there is no capitalism.

I enjoyed meeting each & every one of you and sharing our vision of golf diplomacy. On a national level as well as a global level this is true: golf is a force for good. pic.twitter.com/a67UOoaYfa

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) September 22, 2022

"Freedom of speech & free enterprise form the bedrock of what this country was founded on. Competition is a vital part of the DNA of the USA. Competition breeds excellence. Without competition, there is no capitalism," Norman tweeted.

The LIV boss, who will oversee an extension of the new league into 14 events in 2023, wasn't seeking any type of legislation from the lawmakers, but to allow them to see "both sides of the story for them to understand what LIV is all about."

The startup tour has attracted the likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka with multi-million dollar contracts since its inaugural event in June.

As a result of their defection, the PGA Tour has suspended their memberships as well as a number of other players. These suspensions were the stimulation LIV Golf needed to begin its fightback.