The number of former QBE Shootout players suggests Greg Norman recruited them in Naples

FILE - LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman watches play during the pro-am of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ, July 28, 2022. Rory McIlroy thought his differences with Norman over a Saudi-funded golf league had been patched up. That changed when Norman accused him of being

There’s an old saying that once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern. What if I told you that 18 LIV Golf players who jumped from the PGA Tour this season for boatloads of Saudi cash had competed in the QBE Shootout, aka the Shark Shootout? That’s more than a coincidence.

It appears that Norman, who hosted the unofficial tour event since 1989, exploited his hosting duties to recruit players to LIV.

Developing a chummy relationship with Tour pros at the one event where the Shark regularly got to spend a week in the locker room and form relationships with them turned out to be rewarding. Of the 18 former shootout competitors who joined LIV, 13 of them played in Naples, Florida, within the past two years when the upstart Saudi-backed golf league was taking flight.

LIV’s Greg Norman not at Shark Shootout, but typical of bizarre year in golf | D’Angelo

Lexi Thompson pumped to hit bombs at QBE Shootout with new partner Maverick McNealy

A conspiracy theory, you say? Well, that could be but hopefully some of the discovery in the LIV-PGA Tour lawsuit will shed some light on Norman’s recruiting process.

Norman, the CEO and Commissioner of LIV, isn’t participating at the QBE, neither are the LIV players from a Silly Season event that Norman began with the best intentions: Norman, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd teed it up at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando in 1986 as a fundraiser for what is now the Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando. It grew from there.

Let’s take a look at the 18 players who previously spent at least one fun-filled week at the Ritz-Carlton and played at Tiburon Golf Club but are banned from the unofficial team event after leaving for richer pastures with LIV Golf.

Greg Norman

This was Norman’s baby and he was proud of it. Despite his long-running feud with the PGA Tour, he put those feelings aside to serve as tournament host and did a lot of good for the Naples-Fort Myers community. Norman made a record 24 appearances in the event as tournament host and won the event in 1998 in a playoff with partner Steve Elkington. He last competed in the tournament in 2013.

Abraham Ancer

Mexico’s Abraham Ancer played just once in 2020, teaming with Joaquin Niemann. Ancer is currently ranked No. 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau lines up a putt on the second hole during the semifinals of the LIV Golf Invitational - Miami.

Bryson DeChambeau played in 2016 and 2018. He and Norman shared a second connection as Cobra-Puma ambassadors.

In 2016, DeChambeau partnered with Lexi Thompson and tried to putt sidesaddle that week in what was a doomed effort.

Charles Howell III

Charles Howell III first played in Norman’s shindig in 2000 – with fellow young gun Adam Scott – and most recently in 2021 with Ian Poulter.

Howell, who won three times on the PGA Tour and earned more than $42 million, joined LIV in late July.

DustinJohnson

Dustin Johnson played in the tournament four times and won in 2010. The two-time major winner joined LIV in June and was reportedly paid a signing bonus of more than $100 million.

Jason Kokrak

Jason Kokrak played twice in the event, in 2019 and 2021, when he teamed with Kevin Na to win the title. Kokrak seemed to be an easy target for LIV given that he already was sponsored by Golf Saudi. He officially left the PGA Tour in late July.

Australia's Marc Leishman plays a chip shot on the 13th hole during the Australian Open golf championship at Kingston Heath golf course in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Marc Leishman

Marc Leishman played twice, in 2020 and 2021. He partnered with fellow Aussies Cameron Smith and Jason Day last year. Leishman was part of a package deal with Smith, and officially signed with LIV after the FedEx Cup.

Graeme McDowell

Graeme McDowell played nine times in the Shootout, most recently in 2021, and finished runner-up on three separate occasions. The former US Open champion was one of the first Tour pros to make the move to LIV.

Kevin Well

Kevin Na played three times in the Shootout and won in 2021. But the defending champ left the PGA Tour and renounced his membership in June and is the captain of the Iron Heads team. He has fallen to No. 47 in OWGR.

Joaquin Niemann

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann played only once in the QBE Shootout in 2020, when he partnered with Abraham Ancer. Niemann is the lone player so far to attend the players meeting at the BMW Championship hosted by Tiger Woods and leave for LIV. The 24-year-old Niemann still is ranked No. 22 in the world.

Pat Perez

Pat Perez competed in the Shootout in 2017 and 2018. He’s a poster child for LIV Golf, earning more than $8 million while barely cracking an egg. He made $961,000 in individual prize money and $7,062,500 because of 4 Aces’ success.

England's Ian Poulter plays from the 3rd tee during the first round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, Thursday, July 14, 2022. The Open Championship returns to the home of golf on July 14-17 , 2022, to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport's oldest championship, which dates to 1860 and was first played at St Andrews in 1873. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Ian Poulter

Ian Poulter was a regular shootout, competing in it nine times, including in 2010 when he was part of the winning team with Dustin Johnson. He also is a former Cobra staffer and knew Norman well from photo shoots and the like. The former Ryder Cup hero joined LIV in June.

Patrick Reed

Patrick Reed played in the Shootout twice (2014-15). The former Masters winner signed on with LIV in June. He’s slipped to No. 66 in the world.

CameronSmith

The Aussie Smith is probably Norman’s best “get” so far. In doing so, Norman grabbed the Tour’s reigning Players Championship and British Open winner. Smith is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and won five times around the world this year.

Apr 7, 2022; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Hudson Swafford lines up his putt on the no. 7 green during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Davis Tucker-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Sports

Hudson Swafford

Hudson Swafford played in the Shootout just once in 2021. Given that Swafford and Harris English are often confused for each other and English is a three-time champion of the event, it begs the question: did Norman target the wrong guy?

Cameron Tringale

Cameron Tringale teamed with Jason Day in 2014 to tie the lowest round in tournament history, a 55, in the scramble format in 2014. It was Tringale’s first start in the event and his only win on the PGA Tour, albeit of the unofficial variety.

Tringale, who has dropped to No. 64 in the world, joined LIV and renounced his Tour membership in late August.

Harold Varner III

Harold Varner III played in the Shootout three times. Varner III partnered with Bubba Watson in 2018. HV3 and Ryan Palmer teamed in 2019 to shoot 55 in the scramble format. Varner won the Saudi International in February and joined LIV in late August after the FedEx Cup.

Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson is a two-time Masters champion who at one point was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world.

Bubba Watson played in the Shootout seven times, most recently last year with Lexi Thompson.

Watson signed with LIV in late July, but hasn’t competed in an event as he recovers from surgery for a torn meniscus. The former two-time Masters champ has plummeted to No. 139 in the world.

Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood played in the Shootout just once, in 2013. Westwood, who would have been eligible for PGA Tour Champions in April, was one of the first pros to join LIV Golf and played the entire eight-event inaugural season. He has tumbled from 37th to 143rd in OWGR.

Matthew Wolff

Matthew Wolff played in the Shootout twice, in 2019-20. The 23-year-old former NCAA individual champion from Oklahoma State won once on the PGA Tour and seemed to have a promising future ahead of him. But after ending 2021 at No. 30 in OWGR, he has tumbled to No. 147. He has been open about his mental health struggles and claims the team format with LIV has been beneficial to him.

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