Former PGA Tour pro opens up on Greg Norman's tumultuous tenure at LIV Golf

Former PGA Tour pro Pat Perez says he doesn't necessarily disagree with the notion Greg Norman 'lied' to golfers when they were recruited to LIV. 

Perez was among the first wave of players to leave the establishment for the riches of the PIF-backed breakaway in 2022. 

The American, 49, teamed up with Dustin Johnson's 4Aces and enjoyed two full seasons with LIV Golf before being dropped by the two-time major champion when his contract expired. 

Perez then swapped his golf clubs for a microphone and has spent the 2025 season serving as an on-course analyst. 

The golfer opened up on his role with LIV, Norman, and plans for the future during a recent appearance on the Fore Golfers Network/Michigan Golf Live podcast with Bill Hobson. 

Hobson told Perez that he believed Norman lied to several high-profile golfers before they put pen to paper on their lucrative multi-year contracts. 

Chief of Norman's alleged porkies include the LIV's ability to deliver world-ranking points. 

Norman, who was replaced in January as LIV's chief executive by Scott O'Neil, also reportedly told golfers it wasn't possible for the PGA Tour to suspend players. 

LIV are still without OWGR accreditation, although they are confident of getting accreditation after renewing their bid before the 2025 Masters. 

And major champions such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm and the aforementioned Johnson remain banned from the PGA Tour. 

Hobson told Perez: "I have a theory that's based on nothing but conjecture in my gut. 

"I think that there are some players who did make the move over from the PGA Tour to LIV and perhaps this includes you, based on a promise from Greg Norman that never delivered. 

"I have a personal theory that he just flat out lied to a bunch of guys. Am I wrong?"

Perez replied: "No, I don't know if you're necessarily wrong. For me, my situation was different. I started the PGA Tour in 2002. 

"At 46 years old, I'm kind of struggling to keep my card. I'm not playing that great. I knew I was going to try to play the Champions Tour at 50 and [wondered] how long I could make it until I got there. 

"I didn't have any of those concerns of world ranking points or any of that. 

"They offered me a number, and it was something I just couldn't turn down, and that's what it was. That's the bottom line. 

"I'll give you the real of what it was, and anybody who says it didn't come from money, I don't know if they're really truthful themselves, but that's what it was. 

"[I] was a 46-year-old kind of journeyman. You're going to offer me that kind of bread and [I thought] what I was going to make out here? 

"For me, financially, between my family and my long-term living, for me, I just couldn't turn it down. That's my personal situation."

He added: "I don't really know what Greg promised those top players. The Brysons of the world and Jon Rahm and DJ and Brooks. I don't really know. I haven't really heard those rumblings. 

"I'm sure they said something. It is disappointing that they haven't gotten the world rankings, but I get the other side of that.

"You can't just start a league and then go to the world rankings and go, hey, we want our points. We don't do it that way. 

"I understand how the OWGR is working that way where they're saying, hey, you can't just start something and we're going to give you points. 

"These other tours have been around forever. There's obviously a process of time that it has to go through, and there's a bunch of criteria."

Perez said LIV players are clearly good enough to receive world-ranking points, but at this point he's not sure how much of a difference it would truly make.

"I don't know what Greg Norman told these guys," Perez said. "I don't know. I don't know if he lied. I don't know. I don't know. I know Greg a little bit enough. We're friendly. 

"I'm not going to throw him under the bus and say he did. I just personally don't know what conversations were because I wasn't a top player. 

"I was kind of like a last minute fill-in because they were looking for players that I had no idea what the top players, what their deals were, and or what they were told."

Perez said that he '100 per cent' got what he wanted out of LIV.

"Again, I've never been a top player," he said. "I've had my moments of mediocrity. I won three times.

"I got the 16th in the world. I played every tournament under the sun. I got to play against phenomenal players. I'm in the Tiger era. Tiger is two months older than I am. I've competed against phenomenal players my whole life. But that's all it was."

Return to PGA Tour Champions

Elsewhere, Perez has confirmed that he is plotting a return to the senior U.S. circuit. 

In ordinary circumstances Perez would be eligible to compete on the PGA Tour Champions as a former winner.

But his route back remains murky. 

In January 2023, the PGA Tour introduced a new rule that stipulated any members who participated in 'unauthorized' tournaments would be ineligible to compete on the circuit for one year. 

Perez believes he has served his suspension, given that his last start LIV start was in September 2024. 

But the Tour, Perez said, are 'trying to suspend me for doing TV with LIV'. 

"So, you know, that doesn't make any sense," Perez said, adding that he doesn't know how he can be subject to a suspension for simply talking about golf. 

"I'm not on the Champions Tour yet, but I have the credentials to get there," he said. 

Media credential revoked - report

The podcast appears to have landed Hobson in hot water with LIV. 

The Detroit News are reporting Hobson has had his media credential revoked ahead of the forthcoming Team Championship.

The publication report LIV Golf were not happy with the questions posed to Perez. 

LIV confirmed Hobson's credential has been revoked, although they termed it 'revising' his access. 

A spokesperson for LIV told the paper: "LIV Golf values open and honest dialogue with media partners and has welcomed a wide range of perspectives since our inception. 

"We are committed to working with journalists who approach interviews with fairness, integrity, and respect for the players and the sport."