Jack Nicklaus says he was offered more than $100M to be face of Saudi-backed golf series

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Greg Norman has come under fire in recent weeks over his Saudi-funded golf league that is set to rival the PGA Tour.

But on Monday, it was revealed that Saudi Arabian organizers made a strong push to make Jack Nicklaus, not Norman, the face of the LIV Golf Invitational Series. 

Nicklaus, an 18-time major winner, was offered a huge amount of money to join the rival league, but the golfer ended up turning it down, he said in a story published Monday by the Fire Pit Collective. 

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Jack Nicklaus on the Golf Channel set prior to the start of the 2015 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2015, in Augusta, Georgia. (David Cannon/Getty Images)

"I was offered something in excess of $100 million by the Saudis, to do the job probably similar to the one that Greg [Norman] is doing," Nicklaus said. "I turned it down. Once verbally, once in writing. I said, ‘Guys, I have to stay with the PGA Tour. I helped start the PGA Tour.’"

Nicklaus won 73 times on Tour trailing only Tiger Woods and Sam Snead on the all-time victories list. The golfer hosts the PGA Tour each year during the Memorial Tournament, which was founded by Nicklaus and takes place at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. 

The first LIV Golf Invitational is set for June 9-11 at Centurion Golf Club outside London.

PHIL MICKELSON WITHDRAWS FROM PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AMID CONTROVERSY

Norman is the CEO of LIV Golf Investments, funded primarily by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The league’s first tournament will have a 48-man field competing for a $20 million purse over 52 holes. The winner gets $4 million and