Greg Norman's Son Says LIV CEO Had to Buy 2024 Masters Ticket on 2nd-Hand Market

Greg Norman attended the 2024 Masters as a fan and not an official invitee of Augusta National Golf Club.

The LIV Golf CEO's son, Greg Norman Jr., took to social media Thursday to explain the situation, noting his father purchased a ticket on the secondary market and was there to "watch a LIV player take the green jacket."

He wasn't invited to last year's tournament, either, with Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley telling reporters: "We did not extend an invitation to Mr. Norman. The primary issue … I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria."

As for this year's event, Norman was spotted walking outside the ropes during Wednesday's par-three tournament.

"I'm here because we have 13 players that won 10 Masters between them," Norman said, per Rick Maese of the Washington Post. "So I'm here just to support them, do the best I can to show them, 'Hey, you know, the boss is here rooting for you.'"

Maese also reported Norman "didn't bother waiting for an invitation and came to the course with a pair of LIV executives through the main gate."

One of those LIV golfers he will be supporting is Jon Rahm, who won the Masters last year but has since departed for the tour that is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

The Saudi government has been accused on several occasions of sportswashing in an effort to cover up alleged human rights violations.

While discussions of a potential merger between the PGA Tour and LIV have continued for nearly a year, such a partnership still has not been finalized. At this point, they are still separate entities that prevent the world's best players from coming together for a single tournament outside the majors.

In January, ESPN's Mark Schlabach reported the PGA Tour received an infusion of up to $3 billion elsewhere from the for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. Notably, the deal still allowed for a co-investment from PIF if there is going to be a merger down the line.

For now, though, they are still separated as Norman resorts to buying tickets to the sport's most famous event on the secondary market.