By Steve Keating
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) – The guardians of The Open will accept LIV Invitational Series rebels teeing it up at the championship this week but the message from the Royal & Ancient (R&A) is clear to all — do not mess with our 150th anniversary celebrations.
It appeared on Monday that golfers got the memo as questions about the big-money Saudi-backed venture that has split the sport were batted aside.
Out on the Old Course the Celebration of Champions, a four-hole mini-tournament featuring past winners from Tiger Woods to Gary Player, kicked off the week-long party but did not include LIV’s big name recruit – six-time major winner and 2013 Open champion Phil Mickelson.
The R&A issued a more direct warning on Saturday that it was not prepared to tolerate party poopers when it effectively blackballed LIV Series frontman Greg Norman, saying it would not extend an invite to the 67-year-old twice champion believing his presence would be a distraction.
“We don’t need to talk about LIV,” defending champion Collin Morikawa told reporters before heading out onto the Old Course. “You’re not going to learn anything from me.”
The escalating feud between the PGA and DP Tours and the LIV Series has dominated the golf conversation this year but was mostly forgotten as the first of a parade of golfers made their way through the interview room.
Jack Nicklaus, who said he turned down an offer worth more than $100 million to be the face the LIV project, refused to take the bait when asked about the Norman snub, saying only that ‘The Shark’ will always be a golfing icon and a friend.
“I really don’t know anything about what they (R&A) did,” said 82-year-old Nicklaus. “Let me just sum this up with a couple of words.
“First of all, Greg Norman is an icon in the game of golf. He’s a great player. We’ve been friends for a long time, and regardless of what happens, he’s going to remain a friend.
“Unfortunately, he and I just don’t see eye-to-eye in what’s going on. I’ll basically leave it at that.”
While Norman did not even get an invite to the Champions Dinner, Nicklaus will be feted and honoured, with the 18-times major winner joining Benjamin Franklin and Bobby Jones as honorary citizens of St Andrews.
For Nicklaus, who once appeared on a Bank of Scotland five pound note, becoming honorary citizen was enough to finally bring him back to St Andrews for the first time since he last played the Old Course in 2005.
“I declined to come back the last couple of times to St Andrews because I made my farewell in 2005, and I didn’t want to come back and dilute that,” said Nicklaus.
“There’s a lot of reasons to be back, 150th anniversary and a lot of other reasons but this is why I’m back because of that.
“I wouldn’t be back for any other reason.”
(Reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Ken Ferris)
