Norman Looks At Purchasing $23 Million Florida Home
Former PGA Tour great Greg Norman is circling a $23 million beachside Florida love nest to share with bride-to-be Chris Evert, according to reports.
The 52-room mansion owned by the widow of publishing tycoon Randolph Hearst has spectacular water views.
A lagoon is on the property’s west side, and Florida’s exclusive Manalapan Beach borders the eastern edge.
The Queensland-born former world golf number one golfer attended an auction for the Palm Beach mansion earlier this week, British newspaper the Daily Mail reported.
Norman was at the auction, but he told the newspaper: “I’m just an interested bystander.”
New Stream Capital, a property firm, bought the mansion at the auction and Norman reportedly was seen in talks with the company’s lawyers after the auction.
The company is expected to sell the estate.
The mansion is known as Villa Venezia and was inspired by the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
Norman divorced his wife of 25 years, Laura Andrassy, last year, although some minor legal issues need to be finalised in a Florida court in coming weeks.
The divorce became a bitter legal tussle after Norman and tennis champion Evert went public with their relationship, sparking juicy headlines in the press worldwide.
Evert, 53, left her husband, American ski champion Andy Mill.
Villa Venezia also has a juicy history.
The property had been seized to pay back $46 million Hearst’s widow, Veronica, owed New Stream Secured Capital, which held three mortgages on the property, according to the paper.
Norman, who turned 53 earlier this month, is used to living in luxury in Florida.
The home he shared with Andrassy, a four-bedroom mansion on Florida’s exclusive Jupiter Island, featured a two-bedroom guesthouse, 17-car garage, tennis court, swimming pool and boat dock. It was put on the market in November for $70 million.
The real estate record for Jupiter Island was previously held by world number one golfer Tiger Woods, who paid $47 million for his new home on the island.
