Greg Norman, a former two-time major championship winner who is fronting a new golf league backed by Saudi Arabian investors, confirmed on Monday that Phil Mickelson's recent comments complicated things for the upstart operation.
"There's no question (it) hurt," Norman told ESPN. "It hurt a lot of aspects. It hurt the PGA Tour. It hurt us. It hurt the game of golf. It hurt Phil. So yeah, across all fronts. It wasn't just specifically to us. But it definitely created negative momentum against us."
Norman is the CEO of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, formerly known as the Super Golf League. As the venture was trying to get rolling, comments from Mickelson — published on Feb. 15, after a November interview with author Alan Shipnuck — caused a firestorm.