Greg Norman’s magnetic presence at the Masters is evidence that LIV and PGA Tours must reconcile

AUGUSTA, Ga. — On Wednesday, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman showed up at Augusta National unannounced, uninvited, and clearly unwelcome. He had to buy his own ticket, caused a stir wherever he went, and stole headlines from the players and the club and the game on the eve of the Masters, golf’s most pleasant week.

He said he came to support his 13 LIV Tour players, who are banned from regular PGA Tour events.

He came back Thursday, and he did just that. Still fit as a fighter at 69, with broad shoulders and wiry forearms, he wore a black straw hat, black LIV golf shirt, black golf shoes and socks, and gray golf pants tight in the thigh and the calf. He cut a striking figure, but it had to be humbling and it had to be tiring as he attacked Augusta National’s hills with the vigor of the logo on his lid, a great white shark.

He had to walk with the patrons, mingle with the unwashed. He craned his neck to see Cam Smith, one of LIV’s marquee names, putt on hole No. 4. He peeked around a tree to watch Rory McIlroy, one of LIV’s staunchest opponents, rip one from the forest on No. 2. And, for three hours, not a sour word was said, either to his face or behind his back.

This was remarkable. Norman has spent most of his retirement burning bridges. No one in the golfing world has been as divisive an element between LIV and the PGA Tour as Norman. Fans do not care.

They don’t see him as an existential threat to golf as we know it. They don’t see him as an agent of the oppressive Saudi government.

They see him as the brash and handsome Australian who, 30 years ago, held the No. 1 ranking for 331 weeks, second only to Tiger Woods. And they, like some of golf’s greatest living legends, want the tours to settle things as soon as possible so they can watch the world’s best play against each other as often as possible. Current LIV golfers have won three of the last five majors, but they only play professional tournaments against PGA Tour golfers at the majors.

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“I know the three of us want to get together,” said Tom Watson, who, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player served as honorary starters Thursday. They want “The best players playing against each other. The bottom line; that’s what we want in professional golf, and right now, we don’t have it.”

After more than a year of public feuding, the PGA and LIV Tours agreed last June that the PGA Tour would form a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which fuels LIV. The ratification of any final agreement remains months away, but Nicklaus said he recently asked PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about the state of negotiations:

“I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘We’re doing fine.‘ ”

When an agreement is reached, there won’t be pushback from PGA loyalists like McIlroy.

“I want the train to speed up so we can get this thing over and done with,” he said last month at The Players Championship. “Fans are fatigued of what’s going on in the game.”

That’s a far cry from where McIlroy and most of golf fandom were a year ago, when Augusta National denied Norman the gratis access to which he’d become accustomed. He didn’t crash the party last year. This year, he did. Fans who might have shunned Norman a year ago embraced him Thursday:

“Great to see you, Greg!”

(Whisper) “That’s the Shark!”

“Hey, Greg, thanks for all the memories!”

Norman was extremely patient and unfailingly gracious, but he didn’t come to campaign, and he didn’t come to be seen, despite the assumption of some cynics (raises hand). He came to support his guys, and he did.

Mostly, he followed new LIV golfer and defending Masters champion Jon Rahm down the first hole and stayed with him through his tee shot on No. 5. There he paused, because Cam Smith was in the group behind him, then rejoined Rahm. By the time Rahm finished the front nine, overnight leader Bryson DeChambeau was finishing his 7-under round, which led the field by 3 shots at that moment. Norman waited for him behind the 18th green and gave him a handshake and hug over the ropes. DeChambeau’s eyes lit up.

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“I think it shows he cares, first off,” DeChambeau said later. “I respect him coming out here and showing support.”

DeChambeau, a social media addict, realized that Norman took plenty of heat online Wednesday when he cast his considerable shadow on the tournament, but he insisted the Shark’s heart was in the right place:

“I think the people can view it multiple ways. I just look at it as a sign that he cares and nothing more than that. And if people have a different perspective on that, then that’s up for them to decide. But in my opinion, it just shows that he really cares about the game in general.”

After Norman hugged DeChambeau he scampered over to the practice green. There, he waited for LIV star Dustin Johnson to finish pulling seven-footers. I introduced myself, shook Norman’s hand, remarked on how welcoming the patrons had been, and he thanked me, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He was too busy, and DJ was heading to the first tee.

Norman scampered to the practice green exit, grabbed Johnson as he walked past, and wished him luck. Johnson smiled.

“Great to see you,” Johnson said as they briefly hugged. “Thanks for coming out.”

Norman beamed.