Last year US intelligence agencies concluded that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had approved his murder.

“This whole thing about Saudi Arabia and Khashoggi and human rights; talk about it, but also talk about the good that the country is doing in changing its culture,” Norman said. “Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn by those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”

The Australian golfer said he had not met Mohammed Bin Salman “but, at the same time, I do read that the Saudi government has made their statements and comments about it and they want to move forward”.

When asked how he felt when he heard about the execution of 81 men in Saudi Arabia in March, Norman said: “I got a lot of messages but quite honestly I look forward. I don’t look back. I don’t look into the politics of things. I’m not going to get into the quagmire of whatever else happens in someone else’s world. I heard about it and just kept moving on,” he said.