Greg Norman hints at LIV Golf talks with PGA Tour megastar after Viktor Hovland rumours

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman visited a ‘top PGA Tour player’ to convince them to join the lucrative Saudi-backed series amid rumours linking Viktor Hovland with a shock switch. While the 2024 LIV Golf season is underway and the tour is playing in Adelaide this weekend, Norman is looking ahead to the 2025 roster.

Merger talks between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund remain in the background, but uncertainty surrounding the deal means the Australian is looking to add more stars. Norman has already signed the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm to LIV Golf. Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, became the latest mega-money signing after the Spaniard joined for a reported record-breaking deal worth £450 million.

He was later joined by his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton and DP World Tour Player of The Year Adrian Meronk in a successful offseason for the breakaway league. Norman is keen to continue bringing in top talent, and he revealed a PGA Tour player was ‘impressed’ with his offer but ultimately rejected the advances.

“It’s understanding the facts of what LIV represents and what LIV can deliver on a global basis,” the 69-year-old said ahead of LIV Adelaide. “It’s up to you to determine. I’ve sat down with one top, top PGA Tour player in his house, with another member of my team, and walked him through the whole process.

“He was so impressed. He said ‘well that’s not we are told in the locker room, this is really impressive’. He made the decision, he called 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 happy over here, fine, stay there. The door is always open and if you want to come back and have another conversation with us, happy to do that.”

Hovland has been rumoured to be atop LIV Golf’s wish list. The Norwegian has emerged as one of the world’s leading players in recent seasons, winning the FedEx Cup and Ryder Cup last year. While he has not spoken up a move, Hovland vented his frustration at PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan over his controversial handling of the rise of LIV.

Norman recently made no secret of his desire to land former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. But Rory McIlroy categorically denied speculation suggesting he had agreed a blockbuster move to LIV Golf, and Norman shut down rumours there was any offer on the table.

“LIV never put an offer to him,” Norman said. “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? One hundred per cent, no different than any other player who would be interested in coming on and playing with us.”