Greg Norman not invited to limit LIV drama, Masters chair says

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley confirmed that LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman wasn't invited to attend the 87th Masters this week.

Ridley said the decision was made to ensure that attention this week focused on the tournament and players — not the LIV Golf's ongoing rift with the PGA Tour.

«We did not extend an invitation to Mr. Norman,» Ridley said during a news conference Wednesday. «The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria.»

Ridley said Norman, a former world No. 1 golfer who was a three-time runner-up in the Masters, had attended the tournament only twice in the past 10 years and worked as an analyst for Sirius XM Radio one of those weeks.

Norman called Augusta National's decision not to invite him «petty» in an interview with The Telegraph of London earlier this week. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley are attending the Masters.

«Funnily enough, I haven't been invited,» Norman said. «As a major winner I always was before, but they only sent me a grounds pass last year and nothing, zilch, this time around. I'm disappointed because it's so petty, but of course, I'll still be watching.»

LIV Golf and a handful of its players filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last year, accusing it of using its monopoly power to quash competition and colluding with the majors and golf's governing bodies. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation dragged Augusta National into