Australian sporting icon Greg Norman takes private trip around top Perth golf course
Australian sports icon Greg Norman has his sights set on Perth to host a leg of his polarizing LIV golf tour.
Norman flew to Perth for a private golf cart ride through Lake Karrinyup Country Club on Sunday April 16, just days before the LIV Tour made its Australian debut in Adelaide.
Joondalup Country Club has also been linked to Norman’s plans.
‘The Shark’ wants to play a second tournament in Australia after 2023-24 and says other states are “queuing up” to host the controversial tournament.
The WA government would need to raise millions to win the rights to an LIV event, which would face opposition as the tour is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund over concerns about the country’s human rights record.
However, last weekend’s Australia inaugural event in Adelaide brought an economic boon to South Australia.
Golf fans are estimated to have injected tens of millions of dollars into the South African economy during the $37 million LIV golf event, which has been described as “the biggest promotion of Adelaide and South Australia in the world”.
Approximately 90,000 fans, 30 percent domestic and 10 percent overseas, attended the three-day tournament at Grange Golf Club.
Norman said ahead of the Adelaide tournament that his “mission has always been to bring an event to Australia”.
“Now even the players are saying why don’t we play two tournaments,” he said.
“I know I get inquiries from other states and I look forward to exploring those opportunities when I go to Australia, from corporate to state tourism,” he said.
“The value we bring is in my estimation in the nine figures compared to nobody else. We’re pretty much set for 2023/24 so we’d look beyond that. But now we’re getting people who want to sign five-year contracts.”
The LIV Golf League is entering its second year and its presence on the world stage has rocked the sport with its party atmosphere and radical format.
LIV events are played over 54 holes over three days as opposed to other tournaments around the world which are played over 72 and four days. There’s also a 12-team event and 48-field no-cut events.
LIV will host nine of its 14 events in the United States this year. Singapore will host the fifth tournament this weekend and will be the other overseas destinations alongside Mexico, Spain and England.
Queensland and NSW are also believed to be in the running, while Victoria has shunned LIV as it has a long-term partnership with the PGA Tour. The Presidents Cup 2028 will be held in Melbourne.
Norman has an emotional connection to Lake Karrinyup, having won the WA Open on the court in 1986 when he was nearing the peak of his powers.
Six of the world’s top 50 players performed in Adelaide, including Australian Cameron Smith, winner of last year’s British Open, who accepted a $215 million entry fee just to take part in the rebel tour. Filing fees for Phil Mickleson, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka ranged from $200 million to $300 million.
LIV critics accuse him of “distorting” Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Norman is CEO of LIV Golf Investments, a company backed by the Saudi Private Investment Fund which has invested US$1 trillion in the sport including buying English Premier League team Newcastle United and signing Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr plays the Saudi Arabian Football League.