Greg Norman Tells Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory: ‘You Benefitted from LIV Golf!’

Greg Norman wants Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to know that they both benefitted from LIV Golf, although they never player or committed to going to the PGA TOUR’s rival golf league.

Norman, Woods, and McIlroy have not had much interaction through the past few years, but it is no secret the three have very opposite views on the sport of golf. Norman is drastically different than Woods and McIlroy, who believe LIV Golf is not the proper direction for the sport.

However, Norman said in an interview with Golf Digest Australia that LIV Golf helped Woods and McIlroy line their pockets with more money, especially through the PGA TOUR’s Player Impact Program (PIP), which rewards players for their popularity and ability to get fans to engage with the sport.

Norman said in the explosive interview:

“I would love them to recognize the fact that — like Tiger with his PIP money — that only came because of LIV, right? So Tiger benefitted from that. Rory’s definitely benefitted from that.”

It is not possible to deny the fact that LIV had a positive impact on the payments that PGA TOUR players received. To keep them from jumping ship to LIV, the TOUR started things like the PIP and Signature Events to give players the opportunity to make even more money.

Norman has said in the past that players on TOUR, specifically McIlroy, have been “brainwashed by the PGA TOUR, while the Northern Irishman has said that Norman was the reason for the “civil war” in golf.

Norman continued on by stating he would “love” to debate Woods and McIlroy about the state of golf and LIV:

“I would love to sit down and talk to them about it, no question about it. Because I’m not a judgmental person and you only learn the facts and truth when you hear the other side of it…But, yes, would I like to sit down with them? Sure, absolutely. And you know what? I’d win the debate.”

For what it is worth, Norman has truly changed the sport by helping LIV disrupt the TOUR. However, the fractured nature of golf is continuing, and many are ready for this chapter of the sport to be over.

Cover Image via Reuters