Ferguson: PGA Tour stars unified, pushing ideas similar to LIV

Tiger Woods of the US on the 11th hole during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Thursday July 14, 2022. Woods was scheduled to go to Wilmington Country Club on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, for a private meeting of top players to discuss the threat of Saudi-funded LIV Golf, according to two people aware of the plans at the BMW Championship. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the privacy of the meeting. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

By Doug Ferguson August 23, 2022 5 min read

ATLANTA — Greg Norman braced for another fight with the PGA Tour and was equipped with what he often referred to as the tour’s “playbook” from the first time he tried to start a rival league.

This version might have a similar ending.

Norman’s first attempt to assemble an exclusive field to play for big money around the world never got off the ground. The PGA Tour wielded its political influence, Arnold Palmer stood behind the heritage of the tour and that was that.

And then the PGA Tour stole his idea.

What emerged were the World Golf Championships, the richest events (back when a $5 million purse meant something) with no cut and a limited field. Former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem publicly thanked Norman for his “determination and suggestions of 1994” when the first WGC was played.