It is no exaggeration to say that Hughes Norton operated at the epicenter of professional golf for nearly 20 years, helping legendary super-agent Mark McCormack grow the personal-management business that McCormack created.

While at IMG, Norton built a relationship with Earl Woods that resulted in the highest-profile new-professional-golfer-representation agreement of all time. Norton also led the negotiations that would make Tiger Woods the highest-earning active golfer on the planet before he hit his first shot for pay at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open.

In this excerpt from his new memoir, Rainmaker, Norton offers the first glimpse inside the negotiations and machinations that launched Woods’ branding juggernaut—with dollar signs attached that still stick out even in a world of LIV Golf mega-deals.