Greg Norman confirms Saudi-backed Golf Super League to receive $2bn extra funding

Greg Norman has revealed he has received a further $2bn in funding from Saudi Arabia to push ahead with the LIV Golf Super League.

The controversial plan to set up a mega-money competitor for the PGA and European Tours has had a seismic affect in golf, but it certainly does not appear to be going away anytime soon.

LIV Golf have created eight 48-hole events for 2022, each with a $25m prize fund, and they plan to extend that to 10 in 2023 and 14 from 2024.

The first is scheduled for the Centurion Club in the UK in June, with Phil Mickelson among those who have requested release from PGA Tour to play it.

"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."

The main problem for LIV Golf has been attracting the top names, with many worried about the human rights record of the Saudi Arabian backers and not wanting to get caught up in sports washing accusations.

Norman, though, believes the players are slowly starting to come around.

"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."