Rory McIlroy believed he had resolved his problems with Greg Norman about a Saudi-funded alternative golf league. This changed when Norman accused him of having been “brainwashed” by golf’s governing elite.
“I considered, You know what? I’m now going to make it my job to be as big of a pain in his backside as possible,’” McIlroy declared in a long interview with the Irish newspaper Sunday Independent.
The conversation with author Paul Kimmage is the second portion of a three-part series. McIlroy describes how his friendship with his old pal Sergio Garcia deteriorated.
McIlroy and Tiger Woods have stated that LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner, Greg Norman, must be removed from the scene for golf to have any hope of unifying. Norman stated that this would not occur.
“I pay no mind to McIlroy and Woods, correct?” In an interview with the British magazine Today’s Golfer, Norman said. “They pursue their objectives for whatever cause. They are saying anything they like. It has no influence or bearing on me. I will be with LIV for a very, very long time.”
McIlroy has been targeting Norman since he won the Canadian Open in June, a day after the first LIV Golf tournament outside of London concluded. He emphasized that his 21st career PGA Tour victory was “one more than someone else.”
McIlroy stated, “That gave me a little extra motivation today.”
On November 20, 2022, Rory McIlroy observes his tee shot at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
AP
The reference was to Norman, who has 20 PGA Tour victories in his career and now leads LIV Golf.
When he had the opportunity to return to No. 1 in the world ranking at the CJ Cup in October, McIlroy was asked whether he had a target for the number of weeks he would like to spend at the top of the rankings by the conclusion of his career. He mentioned 332, surpassing Norman by one.
McIlroy stated last month in Dubai that the fragmented condition of golf between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could not mend as long as Norman was engaged.
“I believe Greg must go. I believe he should simply depart stage left,” McIlroy said, adding that no one would be ready to speak “until an adult is there in the room.”
Woods repeated these sentiments this week at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Greg Norman will compete in a LIV Golf tournament in Thailand on October 9, 2022.
McIlroy stated that the schism began in February 2020, when rumors of a Saudi-funded “Premier Golf League” first arose. McIlroy was the first elite golfer to express his disinterest, adding that he wanted to be on the right side of history.
He mentioned the 1994 incident in which Arnold Palmer defended the PGA Tour against Norman’s planned World Golf Tour. Palmer’s statements put an immediate end to the argument.
“He (Norman) wasn’t pleased, and we had a rather contentious exchange in which he was extremely condescending. “Maybe one day you’ll understand’ and all this other nonsense,” McIlroy stated in an interview with the Independent.
Then, in April of this year, McIlroy saw an ESPN documentary on Norman’s meltdown to lose the 1996 Masters and was touched enough to write Norman a message with the phrase, “Hopefully it reminds everyone what a wonderful player you were.”
After McIlroy dropped a four-shot lead during the last round of the 2011 Masters, Norman reportedly sent him a heartfelt message.
“He was fantastic,” said McIlroy. “Therefore, I told him, ‘Watching it reminded me of how you reached out to me in 2011, and I want you to know that I will always be grateful. It meant a great deal. I am aware that our current perspectives on golf are completely different, but I wanted you to know that I wish you the best.
“Therefore, I extended an olive branch, and he responded immediately: ‘I truly believe golf can be a force for good across the world…. I am only attempting to expand chances for every golfer on the planet.’
“Fine. “Very great,” remarked McIlroy. “A few weeks later, he gives an interview to The Washington Post in which he claims that I’ve been ‘brainwashed by the PGA Tour.’
We’ve had a pretty pleasant exchange, and he says so about me.
McIlroy stated in the interview that the PGA Tour is fortunate Norman is a part of LIV because “if they had chosen someone less divisive, LIV may have made more inroads”
On April 5, 2017, Rory McIlroy (left) and Sergio Garcia (right) competed at The Masters.
McIlroy cited Woods and Garcia as his two golfing heroes, characterizing Garcia as an intriguing young player. They attended each other’s weddings; McIlroy was even Garcia’s best man.
Garcia informed McIlroy on the range at the Wells Fargo Championship that he had a new plane and offered McIlroy a ride to the first LIV event near London. McIlroy claimed he did not know Garcia was joining LIV Golf until Garcia informed him on the range.
The friendship worsened a week after McIlroy’s victory in Canada, at the U.S. Open. In his interview that week, McIlroy stated that players who joined LIV Golf were taking the easy way out.
He reported receiving a text from Garcia on Friday of the U.S. Open “basically telling me to shut up about LIV, etc.”
“I was rather irritated, so I gave him back two daggers, and that was all,” McIlroy said.
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