The R&A have told Greg Norman that he is not being invited to take part in their Celebration of Champions event or the traditional Champions’ Dinner to the 150th Open at St Andrews.
Norman, a two-time Open champion, is now heading LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed rebel tour. In a statement the R&A admitted they had not invited for fears that his presence would detract from the 150th championship celebrations.
“In response to enquiries regarding The R&A Celebration of Champions field and the Champions’ Dinner, we can confirm that we contacted Greg Norman to advise him that we decided not to invite him to attend on this occasion,” said an R&A statement.
“The 150th Open is an extremely important milestone for golf and we want to ensure that the focus remains on celebrating the Championship and its heritage. Unfortunately, we do not believe that would be the case if Greg were to attend.
“We hope that when circumstances allow Greg will be able to attend again in future.”
‘It’s petty’ says Norman
Greg Norman getting the decline for the champions dinner this week at St. Andrews. R&A not messing around. pic.twitter.com/sUHJGlP6O0
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) July 9, 2022
The twice-champion described the decision as “petty”.
“I would have thought the R&A would have stayed above it all given their position in world golf,” he said to Australian Golf Digest.
“It’s petty, as all I have done is promote and grow the game of golf globally, on and off the golf course, for more than four decades.”
The R&A’s decision is probably genuinely because they don’t want golf’s recent squabbles to overshadow their celebration. But it will be perceived as them being the first of the four major championship organisers making an outright stance on LIV Golf.
So far Augusta National Golf Club (The Masters), the USGA (US Open), the PGA of America (PGA Championship) and the R&A have been publicly neutral on the new tour.
The two championships to be held after LIV Golf got underway in June – the US Open and The Open – both announced they would adhere to their established qualifying criteria, allowing players who have ‘defected’ to the rebel tour to play if exempt.
Norman wanted to play
Meanwhile, Norman had previously indicated a wish to play in the main field in this year’s Open, and requested a special exemption. However the R&A refused his request.
The Australian’s exemption from qualifying for his two titles – at Turnberry in 1986 and Sandwich in 1992 – expired when he turned 60 in 2015. His only path to playing was through Final Qualifying, but he did not enter that competition two weeks ago.
He has not played in The Open since 2009. His exemption was still active for the 2010 and 2015 Opens at St Andrews, but he declined to play both times.
Norman has since become the high-profile chief of the new LIV Golf tour, which is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment fund. Several leading players have signed contracts to play LIV Golf events and been banned from the established tours.
Celebrations of the 150th Open
The Celebration of Champions is an enhanced version of the Champions’ Challenge held at the Opens of 2000 and 2015 at St Andrews.
In those, surviving champion golfers played a mini-tournament over the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course.
That event has been enhanced this year with the inclusion of winners of the R&A’s championships in women’s golf, amateur golf and disabled golf.
The Champions’ Dinner, held on the Tuesday evening of Open week, is a gathering of surviving former champion golfers in the R&A clubhouse. The dinner is only ever held when The Open is being played at St Andrews.