Greg Norman to visit Capitol Hill to educate members on LIV Golf business model
Greg Norman is set to travel to Washington, D.C. to convince lawmakers of LIV Golf's legitimacy and the PGA Tour's "anticompetitive efforts."
LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman will head to Capitol Hill to "educate lawmakers" on the breakaway series and prove its legitimacy in the professional game.
In a statement given to various media outlets and according to news first reported by Politico, LIV Golf’s chief communications officer confirmed that the new series is aiming to portray their business model and prove the wrongdoing that the PGA Tour is accused of.
"LIV Golf is coming to the Hill this week to meet with lawmakers from both parties. Given the PGA Tour’s attempts to stifle our progress in reimagining the game, we think it’s imperative to educate members on LIV’s business model and counter the Tour’s anti-competitive efforts," the statement read.
The antitrust lawsuit, originally brought against the PGA Tour by 11 former players, said: "As the Tour's monopoly power has grown, it has employed its dominance to craft an arsenal of anticompetitive restraints to protect its long-standing monopoly."
Despite four players taking their names away from the lawsuit and Phil Mickelson considering it as well, LIV Golf has attached itself to the case which may not begin until 2024.
Norman's visit to Washington, D.C. is part of a collective effort from the Saudi-backed series to establish itself as a legitimate professional golf tour.
When the company joined the lawsuit, LIV Golf claimed "punitive damages against the PGA Tour for its tortious interference with LIV Golf's prospective business relationships."
Norman's venture has many stepping stones to cross. Running parallel to its legal efforts is its pursuit of world ranking points which it currently doesn't offer to its players.
After Cameron Smith won the Chicago Invitational on Sunday, Norman made a plea on social media in which he described Smith and Dustin Johnson as the best two players in the world.
"The fans hold us all accountable. They are holding the PGA Tour accountable. They are holding the OWGR accountable. How can the OWGR ignore the fact that the two best players in the world - @cameronsmithgolf and @dustinjohnsongolf - play on the @livgolfinv tour?" The 67-year-old wrote.
There is a number of criteria that a golf tour must meet to gain ranking points such as providing a Q-school for promotion, a 36-hole cut and average field sizes of 75.
Norman isn't going to the Hill to discuss world ranking points, but his visit to America's political capital represents another hoop that LIV Golf have to jump through to rubberstamp its status in the game.
