By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Greg Norman, the frontman for the proposed Super Golf League, on Thursday accused PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan of “bullying” and stressed that he cannot legally ban players who join the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit.
Monahan has reportedly informed players that they could be stripped of their PGA Tour membership if they go after the lucrative paydays being dangled in front of them by the SGL, a position former world number one Norman took issue with.
“Surely you jest,” Norman wrote in the opening line of the letter sent to Monahan. “And surely, your lawyers at the PGA Tour must be holding their breath.
“As has been widely reported, you have threatened the players on the PGA Tour, all of whom are independent contractors, with lifetime bans if they decide to play golf in a league sponsored by anyone other than the Tour.”
The PGA Tour said it did not plan to comment on Norman’s comments.
Norman, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame who counts two British Open titles among his 20 wins on the PGA Tour, is spearheading the SGL as chief executive officer of LIV Golf Investments, which is backed by the Saudi Investment Fund.
No golfers have publicly signed up for the proposed rival league that is promising huge paydays but a slew of big-name players have stated their intention to stay with the PGA Tour.
“When you try to bluff and intimidate players by bullying and threatening them, you are guilty of going too far, being unfair, and you likely are in violation of the law,” Norman wrote in the letter.
“Simply put, you can’t ban players from playing golf,” the Australian added.
“Players have the right and the freedom to play where we like. I know for a fact that many PGA Tour players were and still are interested in playing for a new league, in addition to playing for the Tour. What is wrong with that?”
A number of PGA Tour players have all but written off the SGL including four-times major champion Rory McIlroy who labelled it “dead in the water” but Norman indicated to Monahan he is not going anywhere.
“Commissioner – this is just the beginning. It certainly is not the end,” wrote Norman.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
