As 2024 comes to a close, SI Golf’s writers and editors reflect on the year’s craziest stories.
Past major champions in golf are traditionally extended invitations to the Masters as “honorary invitees,” but in 2023 two-time British Open winner Greg Norman was not invited. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said that the LIV Golf CEO, who was at the center of one of the biggest wars in the history of the game, was not invited in order for “the focus to be on the Masters competition.”
So this year, Norman showed up of his own accord—with a secondary-market ticket.
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Norman’s son Greg Jr. confirmed on social media that his dad bought a ticket, and after attending the mercurial Norman spoke to the Washington Post and claimed fans at Augusta were nothing but positive about LIV Golf and his involvement.
“Walking around here today, there’s not one person who said to me, ‘Why did you do LIV?’” he said. “There’s been hundreds of people, even security guys, stopping me, saying, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is fantastic.’ To me, that tells you that what we have and the platform fits within the ecosystem, and it’s good for the game of golf.”
We’ll see in a few months if Norman hits the open market again to attend the 2025 Masters.
Bob Harig: Norman has said several times that he’s gotten nothing but positive comments about LIV Golf when in public, and it’s unlikely he’d face any backlash at a place like Augusta National, anyway. It does, however, speak to the divide in the game. As a past major winner, Norman would be an honorary invitee and the fact that he wasn’t—and made public his purchasing of a ticket—highlights the uncomfortable truths that still exist.
Jeff Ritter: There’s a major piece to this story we all missed: what did Norman buy at the gift shop? (It’s possible that Masters collectibles aren’t his thing.)
John Schwarb: I found the 30 for 30 "Shark" episode rather poignant, while uncomfortable, as Norman revisits Augusta National and the infamous 1996 Sunday collapse. It was released April 2, 2022, meaning filming on the grounds was likely in 2021. Good timing by the filmmakers—no chance the Shark would be allowed on property for that now.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Golf’s Most Shocking Stories of 2024: Greg Norman Visits the Masters As a Patron.