Greg Norman blasts Augusta National after another | Sports News

Greg Norman is deeply woven into Masters historical past after squandering a number of alternatives to say the Green Jacket, but he will not even tune in to this 12 months’s match after being shut out by Augusta National. The Australian, who spearheaded the LIV Golf breakaway in 2022, has long been one of essentially the most polarizing figures within the sport, and Augusta National has opted to not lengthen an invitation for the ninetieth version of the match, which kicks off on Thursday.

Norman is no longer affiliated with LIV after being pushed out final 12 months, however he stays unwelcome on the Masters. The 71-year-old referred to as the choice a “crying shame.” Augusta historically sends invites to main champions, however Norman did not make the cut this 12 months.

He was equally snubbed by Augusta National in 2023 due to the poisonous fallout surrounding the LIV break up. The following 12 months, the two-time main champion bought a ticket on the secondary market and mingled with members of the public outdoors the ropes. Meanwhile, golf icon Fred Couples had an emotional response to Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest.

With no invitation to this 12 months’s occasion, Norman says he has no intention of watching the match in any respect. “Well, I won’t be there, that’s for sure; I never received the normal invitation from the Masters,” he instructed the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I won’t even watch it [because] I will be out of the country, to be honest with you. But I will follow the results day by day to see who’s leading, what’s happening.

“It simply looks as if I’ve moved on from that, too, which is a crying disgrace as a result of [the] Masters and Augusta and a quantity of associates I’ve in Augusta National, the powers to be determined to go in a completely different direction. So, I’ve to simply accept that.”

After confirming that Norman had been snubbed in 2023 to avoid him becoming a distraction, club chairman Fred Ridley revealed that Norman had only attended the Masters twice in the previous decade after being invited.

Norman, always the outsider, savored the experience of walking alongside the patrons the following year. “Getting out to the venue was one thing that I actually, actually loved once I purchased my own ticket a couple of years in the past to go there,” Norman said.

“To really feel it and stroll round with the patrons was fantastic. I’ll always remember that couple of days, to be sincere with you, as a result of of the help I had, even within the heat of every little thing with LIV and the PGA Tour. The general sentiment was simply overwhelmingly constructive.”

Norman was undeniably one of the best gamers of his technology, claiming 88 skilled match victories, together with two Open Championships.

Yet his legacy at Augusta National stays that of the almost man. He accrued eight top-five finishes and holds a share of the course report, all with out ever donning the coveted inexperienced jacket.

The low level arrived in 1996, when he squandered a six-stroke benefit on the ultimate day to give up the title to Nick Faldo. A decade earlier, The Shark dropped a shot on the ultimate gap to complete one stroke behind Jack Nicklaus’ successful whole.