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Greg Norman claims €1.87bn available to launch Super League by 2024

Greg Norman says he is looking "decades" into the future
Greg Norman says he is looking "decades" into the future

Greg Norman says he has been given an extra £1.6bn (€1.87bn) in funding from Saudi Arabia to build his series of 54-hole events into a full league by 2024.

Norman claimed last week that the league was ready to launch in mid-February until Phil Mickelson's explosive comments about the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia were published and led some players to back out.

LIV Golf, of which two-time Open champion Norman is the CEO, have instead set up eight 48-man events in 2022, each with a prize fund of £20.2m (€23.6m), with the first to be staged at Centurion Club in Hertfordshire from 9-11 June.

The plan is to stage 10 events in 2023 and the full 14 from 2024, with Norman insisting he is looking "decades" into the future.

"We've just got approval to launch our schedule into 2023, 24 and 25," Norman told the BBC. "We're looking way beyond that too. We are looking at decades.

"We've got two billion dollars to back that up so we have additional funds in place. Twenty-two and 23 are our baiter years.

"Of course we have had to pivot because there have been some obstacles thrown in our way with a couple of the institutions - the PGA Tour and DP World Tour - but we have pivoted brilliantly.

"We have pivoted to the fact that we've done invitationals and these will be our start-ups."

Lee Westwood, Richard Bland and Mickelson are among the players known to have asked for releases from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to play at Centurion, with Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and Ian Poulter also expected to take part.

"We have 19 of the top 100 players committed to Centurion," Norman said. "We have five of the top 50, a success rate that a lot of people didn't think we'd be able to achieve."

Norman said the opening event will be streamed live on YouTube, adding: "We have a lot of linear and OTT people wanting to come in with us. We are under NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) with nine of them."

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