Greg Norman, Who’s Partnering With Saudi Arabia to Create New PGA Tour Rival, Gives Regime a Total Pass for Khashoggi’s Killing

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Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman, who is partnering with Saudi Arabia on a start-up circuit which aims to rival the PGA Tour, appears to be giving the regime a complete pass for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

At a media event Wednesday to promote his tour’s launch next month in the U.K., Norman was asked to opine on Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Khashoggi’s murder.

“From what I heard and what you guys reported just take ownership of what it is,” Norman said (via Golf Digest). “Take ownership no matter what it is.”

The golf legend then made this flabbergasting remark.

“Look, we’ve all made mistakes, and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward,” Norman said.

That comment drew a follow-up from a reporter who asked Norman if he thought the killing of Khashoggi was “just a mistake.” But Norman demurred.

“I’m not going down this road guys,” he said. “Let’s just stay focused on the golf. That’s all I’m going to do.”

A day earlier, in an interview with Sky Sports (via Fox News), Norman claimed the new tour is not tied to the regime.

“They’re not my bosses,” Norman said. “We’re independent. I do not answer to Saudi Arabia. I do not answer to MBS [Mohammed bin Salman]. I answer to my board of directors, and MBS is not on that. Simple as that. So that narrative is untrue.”

But the questions have persisted. At Wednesday’s news conference Norman was later asked if he’d heard about Saudi Arabia executing 81 people in one day.

“I got a lot of messages, but quite honestly I look forward, I don’t look back. I don’t look into the politics of things,” Norman replied. “I know the mission I have as CEO of LIV Golf and that’s how we can grow the game globally. I’m not going to get into the quagmire of whatever happens in someone else’s world. I heard about it and I just kept moving on.”

He was then asked about to comment on Saudi Arabia’s discrimination of the LGBTQ community.

“I’m not sure whether I even have any gay friends, to be honest with you,” Norman responded.

Growth for Norman’s well-funded start-up stalled after golf legend Phil Mickelson was denounced for comments he made about the Saudi regime, as he publicly weighed whether to sign on to the new venture.

“They’re scary motherfuckers to get involved with,” Mickelson told reporter Alan Shipnuck. He added, “They killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”