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legend Greg Norman left out of 150th British Open celebrations

The Australian is paying for his involvement in the dissident circuit LIV Golf.

Australian Greg Norman, headliner of the dissident LIV Golf circuit, was not invited to the celebrations of the 150th British Open at St Andrews, the organizers wishing to mark their opposition to the creation of these richly endowed tournaments.

Norman, 67, a former world number 1, won the British Open in 1986 and 1993. He is now the executive director of LIV Golf, a new series funded by Saudi Arabia and ready to distribute this year, over eight tournaments, nearly 24 million euros in prizes.

The Royal & Ancient (R&A) of St Andrews, the host club of The Open, confirmed on Saturday that Norman could not take part in the Champions’ Challenge on Monday, played over four holes, nor in the Dinner of Champions.

«The 150th Open is a hugely important milestone for golf and we want to make sure everyone stays focused on the anniversary of our Championship and its heritage.“Explain the leaders of the R&A in a press release. “Unfortunately, we don’t believe that will be the case if Greg participates. We hope that, when circumstances permit, Greg can be with us again in the future.»

Norman immediately reacted, for the Australian Golf Digest magazine, by evoking his disappointment with a decision which he describes as “petty» and saying that he rather expected «that the R&A stays above the fray, given its position in world golf».

«It’s petty, after all I’ve done, for over four decades, to promote and develop golf around the world.added Norman.

LIV Golf has already attracted several big names in current golf, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, but not Jordan Spieth who has planned to stick with the North American PGA Tour.

Winner of three Majors, Spieth, 28, has made it clear on his Twitter account that he has no intention of joining the ranks of LIV Golf, whose tournaments are contested between 48 players and over just three rounds , instead of 120 players and four rounds on the American and European circuits.

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