AUGUSTA, Ga. – Masters chairman Fred Ridley defended the club’s decision not to invite LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to this year’s tournament by saying that he didn’t want Norman’s presence to detract from the competition.

Norman told the Telegraph earlier this week that Augusta’s decision was “petty” after he had received a grounds pass the prior year as a former major winner.

In his annual address, however, Ridley said that Norman has only attended the Masters twice in the past decade, with one of those occasions as a working media member.

“The primary issue and the driver there is that I want the focus this week to be on the Masters competition, on the great players that are participating, the greatest players in the world, which, by our decision in December, we ensured that we were going to honor and be consistent with our invitation criteria,” Ridley said. “It really was to keep the focus on the competition.”

Norman said last weekend that there could be a group celebration behind the 18^th green should a LIV member go on to win the Masters. The three-time tournament runner-up said the idea gave him “goosebumps” and that he’d be the “happiest man in the world.”

In other interviews with the Australian media, Norman said that he doesn’t believe he’ll ever be welcomed back to Augusta because of his association with the Saudi-backed breakaway league.

“I would never say never,” Ridley said. “But I told you why he had not been invited this year.

“The tone has been really good here this week. I’ve noticed the players are interacting. Last night at the Champions Dinner, I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm. So I think, and I’m hopeful, that this week might get people thinking in a little bit different direction and things will change.”