Greg Norman denies LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy negotiations, leaves door open

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said Wednesday that the upstart golf league “never put an offer” out to PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy.

London financial paper City A.M. initially reported that McIlroy had received an $850 million offer to join LIV. Norman, speaking at a press conference ahead of LIV’s event in Adelaide, Australia, denied that report.

“Look, I’ll make the comment if you look back over that time period of that dialogue that was going, there wasn’t one comment about LIV. LIV never put an offer to him,” Norman said, via Sky Sports. “We didn’t need to make a comment about this. This is just typical white noise that gets out there in the industry. If Rory was willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, would we be happy to sit down with him? 100%, no different than any other player who would be interested in coming on and playing with us.”

Sean O’Flaherty, McIlroy’s manager, previously called the report “fake news.” McIlroy told Todd Lewis of the Golf Channel/NBC last week that LIV has never offered him a contract.

“I honestly don’t know how these things get started,” McIlroy said. “I’ve never been offered a number from LIV, and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV. I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me. Doesn’t mean that I judge people that have went and played over there. I think one of the things I’ve realized over the past two years is, people can make their own decisions for whatever they think is best for themselves. And who are we to judge them for that? But personally, for me, my future is here on the PGA Tour, and it’s never been any different.”

Rory McIlroy shuts down LIV Golf rumors: ‘I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career’

McIlroy, 34, is the No. 2 player in the Official World Golf Ranking. Winless thus far this season, he finished T22 at the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. McIlroy, a four-time major champion, hasn’t triumphed at a major event since the 2014 PGA Championship.

While LIV didn’t offer McIlroy a contract, Norman revealed that he has sat down with a “top PGA Tour player in his house.” The player, whose name Norman didn’t mention, declined to join LIV but told the two-time Open champion he was “impressed” by the offer.

“It’s understanding the facts about what LIV represents and what LIV can deliver on a global basis. It’s up to you to determine it,” Norman said. “I’ve sat down with one top, top PGA Tour player in his house with another member of my team, walking through the whole process, and he was so impressed. He said, ‘Well, that’s not what we’re told in the locker room. This is really impressive.’ But he made the decision. He told me up two days later and said, ‘I’ve decided to stay where I’m at.’ I said, ‘Happy days. You made a decision on fact. If you’re happier over here, fine, stay there. Your door is always open; if you want to come back and have a conversation with us, happy to do that.'”