CEO Greg Norman has confirmed that LIV Golf has been attempting to sign 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.
Norman mentioned Matsuyama during an interview with Australian Golf Digest which focused on the bad blood between him and PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy.
Norman said should the Northern Irishman complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta in April, he would still reach out to congratulate him.
“One thing I do is I take emotion out of everything,” Norman said. “I’m very good at that. I don’t bring emotion into business. I don’t bring emotion into anything. If you do, I think that shows the weakness of an individual …
“When Rory missed out on the [2011] Masters when he hit that wayward tee shot on 10, I sent him a message of support afterwards because I felt his pain, and he responded.
“If Rory wins this year’s Masters, I’ll say congratulations on achieving the Grand Slam, right? That’s sport and that’s sportsmanship, and that’s the humility of the game. That’s me. That’s how I would do it.
“I’ll give you another example,” Norman added. “We’ve been trying to get Hideki Matsuyama. I don’t mind admitting that.
“When Hideki won in LA, what’s the first thing I did? I said, ‘Congratulations, Hideki. I’m proud of you, mate.’”
Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images
