Yes, Greg Norman was seen with an official R&A guest badge today at the Royal Troon! The two-time Open Champion and the former World No. 1 had a huge brawl with the R&A at the beginning of the season. “I don’t think there’s a G. Norman [on the list]. I think they would have let me know if there was. So I’m not aware that he’s bought a ticket so far. Obviously, there are tickets still available on the resale platform or hospitality. He’s very welcome to look there.” said R&A communications director Mike Woodcock.

The LIV Golf CEO was asked to pay for his entry at the 2024 Masters as well, and it was already assumed that The Open would be no exception. Even with a huge dispute with R&A, Norman was present in the 3rd round of the 152nd edition of the Open Championship. Maybe to enjoy the event, maybe to encourage the LIV golfers who made the cut.

NUCLR Golf recently shared a post on their X handle announcing Greg Norman’s presence at the Troon. They wrote, “🚨🦈👀 #SHARK WATCH: LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is on-site at The Open Championship in an official capacity, per @EvinPriest. The sighting follows years of turmoil with Norman and the R&A.” Norman was there in an official capacity and hence did not break any rule. No rule claims that LIV Golf’s officials cannot witness the majors in person.

They also shared Norman’s statement about what The Open Championship truly means to him. Norman revealed to Evin Priest of Golf Digest, “It’s good to be back. The Open has a lot of history for me. To me, it was the best championship of all. The Masters is the Masters, but I put this one up above all four of them because it is a true open.” Greg Norman has won The Open twice in his career: 1986, and 1993. So, it indeed holds a lot of importance for him.

Not only that, but the LIV CEO also shed some light on the present position of LIV. He said, “I think in the beginning there was a lot of I guess misinterpretation of the situation [LIV Golf’s divide with the PGA Tour]. I love seeing the way things have settled down, now. Everybody’s seen that within the ecosystem, LIV Golf has been accepted and the players deserve to be in these big championships.”

However, things have not been the same with Norman since he joined LIV. In fact, the former two-time Open Champion was not even invited to the Champion’s dinner in St. Andrews back in 2022. But what else did happen with Norman and the R&A?

The brawl between Norman and R&A

Earlier this season, Greg Norman was not allowed at the Masters in the official capacity by the organizers. He was asked to buy his own ticket just so that he could witness the major unfold in person. According to the Daily Mail, “Norman was denied a ticket to Augusta National after ‘going through the proper professional channels’ and bought one off a secondary site, according to his son.”

R&A’s steps taken against Greg Norman made the latter feel quite unprofessional and not in line with true sportsmanship. Thus, Norman mentioned how petty the situation turned out to be. He expressed, “I would have thought the R&A would have stayed above it all given their position in world golf.”

The former World No. 1, had to mention his own contribution to the game of golf just to remind people that what has happened needn’t be like that. Norman reflected, “It’s petty, as all I have done is prompt and grow the game of golf globally, on and off the golf course, for more than four decades.”

Even after the disrespect that Norman received from R&A, the CEO of LIV Golf went ahead to witness the Open Championship. Do you think keeping one’s ego aside to unite the two distinct divisions of golf will truly come true? Let us know in the comments below.