ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Greg Norman was disinvited by the Royal & Ancient to attend this week’s historic 150th British Open at St. Andrews, including the champion’s dinner and Monday’s Celebration of Champions, where past Open champions played hole Nos. 1, 2, 17 and 18.
The tournament officials reasoned that despite the fact that Norman is a two-time past champion (1986 and 1993), his involvement with the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour would cause a distraction.
On Monday, Jack Nicklaus weighed in on the Norman situation with strong words — both for and against Norman.
“Let me just sum this up with a couple of words,” the 82-year-old Nicklaus said. “First of all, Greg Norman is an icon in the game of golf. He’s a great player. We’ve been friends for a long time, and regardless of what happens he’s going to remain a friend.
“Unfortunately, he and I just don’t see eye to eye in what’s going on (with LIV Golf). I’ll basically leave it at that.”
Nicklaus recently revealed that a group of Saudi investors had reached out to him offering him millions of dollars to join forces with them in their effort to build golf in their country and that he turned them down.
“I was offered something in excess of $100 million by the Saudis, to do the job probably similar to the one that Greg is doing,” Nicklaus told Michael Bamberger of the website Fire Pit Collective. “I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.’ “
Nicklaus and his family are in St. Andrews this week for the first time since he played his final British Open on the Old Course in 2005 because he’s being celebrated as an honorary citizen of St. Andrews.
“I declined to come back the last couple of times to St Andrews (2010 and 2015), because (I) made my farewell in 2005 and I didn’t want to come back and dilute that for what it was,” Nicklaus said. “But when I got the invitation this time to be an honorary citizen of St. Andrews and to follow Bobby Jones and Benjamin Franklin, I’ve got to come back. I think that’s pretty special. There’s only two Americans that have ever been honored. I’m very flattered by that. I’m sure it will be a humbling experience (Tuesday).”
