AUGUSTA, Ga. – Masters chairman Fred Ridley defended the club’s decision not to invite LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to this year’s tournament by saying that he didn’t want Norman’s presence to detract from the competition.
Norman told the Telegraph earlier this week that Augusta’s decision was “petty” after he had received a grounds pass the prior year as a former major winner.
In his annual address, however, Ridley said that Norman has only attended the Masters twice in the past decade, with one of those occasions as a working media member.
Full-field tee times from the 87th Masters Tournament
“The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria,” Ridley said.