The LIV Golf saga takes a bizarre turn, and Greg Norman is left with a bitter taste: his once-dream of a golf revolution seems to have personally yielded him very little, despite the grand promises of a disruptive launch. Now that the league has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. state of New Jersey, it becomes brutally clear how small the pie truly was for the Great White Shark.
A tiny fraction of 0.23% – that's all the official documents show as Norman's equity stake in LIV Golf. Alongside that, another 0.23% for an unnamed player. A joke, considering the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund had control from the start, holding a whopping 98.48% of the shares.
Bitter Pill for the Shark
This minuscule stake is now facing extinction, as the PIF shares and debts are set to be wiped out as part of the restructuring – without any payout whatsoever. Simultaneously, reports are emerging of massive creditor claims from top stars like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, and Tyrrell Hatton. A clear signal that Norman isn't the only one who didn't get his cut.
During Greg Norman’s tenure at LIV Golf, he saw the company rise from just an idea, to signing some of the best and most recognisable players in the world. But does he have any regrets? “It was too US-centric from the start. I thought, let’s own global golf and let the PGA Tour
From Revolutionary to Standard Act?
LIV Golf thus seems to be definitively moving away from its original "disruptor" image and instead establishing itself as a more conventional tour. Will the 54-hole events without a cut and the team format fall by the wayside? The financial problems could accelerate this change, and the once-proud "Shark" must watch as his brainchild takes an unexpected course.
