Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm remain well off the leaders as Greg Norman oversees underwhelming displays

Greg Norman was on site at Royal Troon on Saturday. The chief executive of LIV Golf and bête noir of the bastions of the game has previously found himself excluded from attending the Open. Two years ago he was snubbed of an invitational letter to St Andrews, but this weekend he has been “afforded the full privileges” that befit a former champion golfer.

There’s more to it than that, as there often is in tidbits relating to LIV, the rogue Saudi-funded competition. The R&A had joked a couple of months ago that Norman was not on the list for the Open but that there were still “tickets available on the resale platform or hospitality; he’s very welcome to look there.” When faced with the knowledge that Norman was coming after all however (whether via a tout or more likely guest list from one of his players), the R&A this weekend rolled out the red carpet.