LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman met with lawmakers in Washington Wednesday in a very informative meeting during which he spoke to members of Congress about the tour's recent investments and aimed at targeting former members who have joined the rival Saudi-backed circuit.
The 20-time PGA Tour winner credited its growth to the quality product it provides, adding, "We never intended to destroy another tour," a source with knowledge of the meeting told FOX Business.
Norman praised the importance of competition, describing it as the bedrock of America, and said the circuit has invested $300 million in the Asian Tour and is exploring the possibility of a women's tour.
LAWSUIT: Ahead of last week's event in Chicago, Norman made similar comments about the benefits of competition and seemed to take credit for the PGA Tour's recent changes.
Since LIVs came on board, the PGA Tour has stepped up. They would never have done that without competition. He said that competition is the best thing in any sport.
A source told FOX Business that Norman claimed his players have been threatened with and that the tour has threatened to pull PGA Tour press credentials from reporters if they give LIV favorable coverage. According to the source, it will be blacklisting vendors that serve LIV events.
The PGA Tour didn't say anything about those claims.
After exiting his meeting with Republican lawmakers, Norman declined to say if he believed the PGA Tour was playing dirty over its suspension of LIV golf players, telling FOX Business, You'll have to ask the PGA Tour.
We're here for the good of the game of golf. We're giving the players another platform to play as independent contractors. The PGA Tour pulled a hard line in the sand this summer after some of its members resigned or agreed to play in LIV tournaments without release.
In June a memo was released by Commissioner Jay Monahan stating that those players would now be considered ineligible to play in PGA Tour events, prompting 11 players to file an antitrust lawsuit claiming that the tour's indefinite suspensions were aimed at hurting their careers.
Four players have dropped out of the lawsuit, and LIV Golf has joined in their absence.
The Justice Department launched an investigation into the handling of the situation by the PGA Tour in July to determine whether it committed antitrust violations.
Norman told FOX Business he hasn't heard from lawmakers on Capitol Hill when asked if he's facing any criticism. Since I've been CEO, not one person has told me this is a bad idea.