Greg Norman admits LIV Golf was "very draining on me" in revealing interview

Greg Norman has revealed the extent of the stress and strain he felt during his time in charge of LIV Golf, but he insisted he would go through it again "in a heartbeat."

Norman was installed as chief executive officer when the Saudi-backed breakaway league was founded in 2021, but the Australian under-estimated the amount of work involved.

The two-time Open champion was also not prepared for the amount of abuse he received over his involvement, claiming he was unfairly judged by anti-LIV golf fans worldwide.

Norman was at the centre of negotiations to secure huge funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Phil Mickelson among the high-profile players to join the league.

Mickelson and the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia were paid vast signing-on fees, with prize money for the 14 events on the schedule also dwarfing the majority of tournaments on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

Norman's tenure came to an abrupt end in January this year, although his contract remained in place until August, and he announced last month that he would have no further involvement in any capacity.

In an exclusive interview with Australian Golf Digest, the 70-year-old revealed how the long hours and the persistent abuse took a heavy toll.

"I enjoyed my time at LIV. But I’ll be honest with you, it was hard,” said Norman. “It was very draining on me. I was working 100-hour weeks. 

"I’m not going to say all the abuse was anything [of consequence], but what hurt me the most was the lack of understanding of why people would judge me and give the abuse they did. 

"That was the thing that bothered me the most, because I’m the type of guy who will happily sit down and talk about things. And if I’m wrong, I’ll admit I’m wrong. But don’t judge me. Don’t judge what LIV was truly all about."

Norman also expressed his thanks to Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood for their support following his departure early this year.

He added: "There were certain players that really came up to me and there were a few others that came up to me and just thanked me for what I did for them, for being the tip of the spear, for taking it all on.

"Phil took plenty of heat too, but I took it on behalf of all the guys, so that to me was part of the job – I had to do it, right? And if you’re going to make meaningful change, running through a brick wall without getting bloody, that’s not going to happen. 

"So, the guys did reach out to me – not all of them, no – but probably Phil was the one who really was very open about it and appreciative of what I did do. Poults was the same, along with Westy."

Norman is now looking forward to expanding his golf course design business, while he is also on the Australian Olympic Games organising committee and will oversee preparations for the golf tournament in Brisbane in 2032.

"The Olympics has been the big surprise packet for me,” he said. "I didn’t realise just how much I was going to enjoy it when I took it on, to be honest with you, but I’m really into it.

"Once I get to that point and Brisbane has lit the cauldron, I can sit back and go, 'OK, now might be the first time in my life I can (finally) think about slowing down!'"