19th Hole

Greg Norman says he held LIV talks with 2022 major winner

Published

3 years ago

Feb 23, 2023

Greg Norman still says that the LIV door is “open for everybody.”

Just a few days before the opening LIV event of the season, Norman told People I (Mostly) Admire podcast he had in-depth conversations with one of the four major winners of 2022 with a view to bringing him over to the rebel tour.

With Open Championship victor Cam Smith jumping ship soon after his spectacular win at St. Andrews, that leaves just Scottie Scheffler (Masters), Justin Thomas (PGA) and Matt Fitzpatrick (U.S Open) as possible names that Norman cannot, or will not, reveal.

Soon after their inaugural year, LIV made it clear they were looking for several top-10, top-20 players to join in time for the new season. Whilst the organization has signed six new players, the likes of Thomas Pieters, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz and Dean Burmester are not at the level suggested back in November, with the Belgian the highest ranked at number 34.

Norman told the podcast it could easily have been different.

The two-time Open champion told host Steven Levitt: “I won’t mention this player’s name, but he is a top player.He’s won a major championship in the last year in 2022. I’ll just put it to you that way.”

“And he asked me to come over, to sit down, and show him what the LIV product was all about. He will sit down and listen. So myself and another one of my executives went over to his house, and we sat there, and we walked him through the presentation.”

Norman then told the podcast of the player’s reaction.

“And he just sat there and looked at me and goes, ‘Wow, this is nothing like we’ve been told in the locker room.’”

He continued by explaining why he had respect for the un-named star, even though they did not ultimately sign on the dotted line.

“Now, he decided not to come. I respect him wholeheartedly because he understood both sides, and he had a decision to make. He could have done whatever he wanted, and he chose to do that,” he said, clear in his admiration for the player and his attention.

“Those individuals, I applaud. Those individuals to me have a tremendous amount of intelligence and street smart because they wanted to learn what the truth was. What are the facts? What are my opportunities? What are my preferences? Now I’ll make a decision over here.”

Norman is less complimentary about the most well known of LIV opponents, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.

“They have never sat down – I know with me they have not; I know with none of my executives or my team – have sat down to understand what the business platform is and what the business platform can deliver to them. They just haven’t seen it. So if you don’t see it, don’t comment on it, right? Because everybody’s got an opinion. And I’ve got a great saying: ‘Opinions are like a******s. Everybody’s got one.’”

Despite the clear closeness between Woods and Justin Thomas, in December Norman told Bunkered magazine he had spoken to the two-time PGA champion and he ‘got it’.

“We talked to JT,” he said.” Me and another member of my team, we sat down with him and gave him the full presentation and, if you notice, he’s not said much negative about what we’re doing, presumably because he knows it and understands it.”

Mayakoba is about to start, and, we suspect, golf is about to get louder.

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”