The feud between the two richest powers in golf continues. A few days after Tiger Woods echoed Rory McIlroy’s sentiment that Greg Norman needs to be removed at the CEO of LIV Golf before LIV and the PGA Tour can peacefully coexist, Norman retaliated with some fire remarks of his own. In an exclusive interview with Today’s Golfer, Norman offered up a rebuttal for Woods and McIlroy.

“I pay zero attention to McIlroy and Woods, right?,” Norman said. “They have their agenda for whatever reason. They’re saying whatever they want to say. It has no bearing or effect on me. I’m going to be with LIV for a long, long period of time.

“When the monopolist’s territory is getting threatened, they’re going to rear their ugly head up and do what they do. But from my whole perspective, I’ve always taken the high road this year. I will continue to take the high road because I believe in our business model. I believe in our people, I believe in the players’ independent rights, and we’ve already seen a dramatic shift in our audience.”

Norman’s response stems from Woods backing up his friend McIlroy leading up to the Hero World Challenge event he hosts annually in the Bahamas last week. 

“I think Greg has to go, first of all,” Woods said. “Then obviously litigation against us and then our countersuit against them, those would then have to be at a stay as well. So then we can talk, we can all talk freely.”

Woods reiterated his feelings later in the press conference. 

“Right now as it is, not right now, not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the Tour itself,” Woods said about potential peace talks. “I don’t see that happening. As Rory said, and I said it as well, I think Greg’s got to leave and then we can eventually, hopefully, have a stay between the two lawsuits and figure something out.”

McIlroy, who has said something very similar to Woods about Norman needing to be ousted, might take exception to Norman’s comment about taking the high road. He told a story recently to Paul Kimmage of the Independent about how he and Norman had a nice conversation about Norman’s career struggles at Augusta National and more or less made amends on everything. Then, it went sour.

“Then, a couple of weeks later, he does an interview with The Washington Post and says I’ve been ‘brainwashed by the PGA Tour’,” said McIlroy. “I’m like ‘For f**k sake!’ We’ve had this really nice back-and-forth and he says that about me. I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in his arse as possible.'”

There have been rumors in recent weeks that Norman will be stepping aside as LIV CEO. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen, but it’s clear that there is disdain for him from the most important folks on the other side.

“I am not going anywhere,” Norman said. “I don’t care what anybody says. I’m not going anywhere. I am so proud of the position I am in and maybe, maybe, it’s my leadership that has them scared. Maybe…”

Maybe.

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Tiger Woods may not be playing in the 2022 Hero World Challenge, but that doesn’t mean he is still not at the center of attention. In his first press conference in more than four months on Tuesday, Woods put on his commissioner’s hat. While not officially in the position, the 15-time major champion was peppered with inquiries surrounding potential peace talks between the PGA Tour and rival league LIV Golf, and what exactly needs to happen for those discussions to take place.

“I see that there’s an opportunity out there if both organizations put a stay on their litigation, but that’s the problem, they’ve got to put a stay on it. And whether or not they do that or not, there’s no willingness to negotiate if you have a litigation against you,” said Woods. “So if they both have a stay and then have a break and then they can meet and figure something out, then maybe there is something to be had. 

“But I think Greg [Norman] has to go, first of all, and then obviously litigation against us and then our countersuit against them, those would then have to be at a stay as well. So then we can talk, we can all talk freely.”

The terms for compromise are clear in the eyes of Woods. Drop the lawsuits and drop Norman, and only then can the two golf leagues be able to join each other at the table for a conversation. The 46-year-old’s words echoed those of his good friend and business partner Rory McIlroy, who shared similar thoughts ahead of the 2022 DP World Tour Championship.

“It has to start with leadership on their side,” said Woods. “Understanding that what is happening right now is not in the best … it’s not in the best fit or future for the whole game of golf. Now, what is the best way for our game to grow? It’s not this way. But, granted, you need to have the two bodies come together. If one side has so much animosity, someone trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?”

LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have two court battles ongoing with an antitrust lawsuit from LIV Golf claiming the PGA Tour illegally suspended players for competing in LIV Golf events, while a countersuit from the PGA Tour claims LIV interfered with player contracts.

Once those legal proceedings are resolved and Norman is potentially removed, what would compromise between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf even look like? With the who taken care of, even Woods admits he has trouble seeing the what.

“We don’t know. No one knows,” Tiger said of what middle ground between the two tours would look like. “Right now, it’s — there’s a lot of animosity, especially from their leadership. And they want to be a validated tour with world ranking points and they’re buying up tours around the world, and I don’t know — I don’t know what their end game is.  

“It might be just being an official member of the golf ecosystem and being recognized with world ranking points. I think that’s what their intended goal is. You know, they’ve spent probably close to $2 billion this year. Who’s to say they can’t spend 4 or $5 billion next year? You know, we just don’t know. It’s an endless pit of money. But that doesn’t necessarily create legacies either. You want to compare yourself to [Ben] Hogan, you want to compare yourself to [Sam] Snead, you want to compare yourself to [Jack] Nicklaus, you can’t do that over there, but you can on this Tour.”

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Two days after losing the 150th Open Championship to Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy made a phone call he undoubtedly did not want to make. He called Smith to congratulate him on winning the Claret Jug, and then talked him through all the reasons he should stay on the PGA Tour.

Smith did not heed McIlroy’s advice, obviously, opting instead to sign a reported nine-figure deal with LIV Golf and making his debut at LIV Boston just after the Tour Championship. Those two, along with PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, owned most of the year in 2022. That trio combined for 11 victories worldwide, including half the major championships.

However, it was what happened off the course that often dominated the headlines. Smith opened up recently about what McIlroy said to him during that post-Open Championship phone call.

“I’ve always had respect for Rory and I’ve liked what he says on the golf course,” Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald. “He said, ‘Congrats’. There were maybe a couple of little jabs in there. He was happy I played well and it was a good tournament. Then we talked about the PGA Tour and LIV. There was a bunch of stuff he wanted me to know before I made my decision. I wouldn’t say he tried to directly talk me out of it, but he definitely wanted me to stay.”

There was good reason. At the time, Smith was the No. 2 player in the world and the reigning Players Championship and Open Championship winner. His recap of the conversation squares with what McIlroy said at the Tour Championship in August:

“I wanted to congratulate him, but also I wanted — guys that are thinking one way or another, honestly I don’t care if they leave or not,” said McIlroy. It’s not going to make a difference to me. But I would at least like people to make a decision that is completely informed and basically know this is what’s coming down the pipeline. This is what you may be leaving behind.”

What’s coming on the PGA Tour is a set of elevated events with massively increased purses — 12 tournaments with an average purse size of $20 million in 2023 — as well as an opportunity to play in the TGL, which is run by a company Tiger Woods and McIlroy own. TGL is essentially televised screen golf in an arena where players will have the opportunity to make some money in conjunction with a PGA Tour-affiliated event. This has not been the case in the past.

Smith was not the biggest name LIV landed in 2022, but he was probably its best player. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are all bigger draws than the Australian, but you could argue that only Scheffler had a better year than Smith this year, although he certainly didn’t have a richer one.

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World No. 1 Rory McIlroy has made it no secret that he’s not a fan of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. On Tuesday, he made that opinion crystal clear as he prepares to compete at the DP World Tour Championship. Speaking to the media ahead of the European finale, which McIlroy seeks to capture across from his FedEx Cup crown on the PGA Tour, the 33-year-old laid out what he believes needs to occur for peace to be reached in the world of men’s golf.

“There’s a few things that I would like to see on the LIV side that needs to happen,” McIlroy said. “I think Greg [Norman] needs to go. I think he needs to just exit stage left. Look, he’s made his mark, I think now is the right time to sort of say, ‘Look, you’ve got this thing off the ground, but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.'”

Norman, the current CEO and figurehead for LIV Golf, has been at the center of headlines in recent weeks; the Telegraph recently reported on a potential departure from his current position with the rival league. That report was later denied by Majed Al Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation and leader of Saudi Golf, and the Australian has since been vocal of LIV’s success and the debt of gratitude he believes those on the PGA Tour owe.

“Every PGA Tour player should be thanking LIV, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, because the PIP program wouldn’t have been increased without LIV,” said Norman. “Prize money wouldn’t have been increased without LIV, all these other things that have been introduced by the PGA Tour because of LIV. Competition is the best thing in life, in business and in sport. LIV is not going to go anywhere. LIV is just going to get better and better and better, and LIV Golf has only just begun.”

This direct assertion from Norman may have been the cog for McIlroy’s plea for his removal. Later asked whether this claim was warranted, the Northern Irishman couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“I’ve said this a million times: Tiger is the reason that we are playing for as much as we are playing for,” McIlroy said. “Tiger is the reason that stature of our game is where it is. The generation of Tiger and the generation coming after Tiger have all benefited from him and his achievements and what he’s done for the game of golf.

“I don’t think Tiger should be thankful to anyone for anything. I think everyone else in the game should be thankful.”

LIV Golf and the PGA Tour — as well as the DP World Tour — are currently in battle not only on the golf course but also in the courtroom. With an antitrust lawsuit from LIV Golf claiming the PGA Tour illegally suspended players for competing in LIV Golf events, and a countersuit from the PGA Tour claiming LIV interfered with player contracts still needing to reach their conclusion, it is clear no movement in potential peace talks will be made until those are put to rest.

“It’s obviously been a very contentious year in golf,” McIlroy said. “And I’ve said this: The best thing for golf is to have all the best players playing together, and what’s happening right now, that’s not happening. So I fear for the game when that’s going on.

“It’s contentious because there’s lawsuits going on and people suing people; it’s very, very messy. So again, if all that stuff can be sorted out one way or the other, then you can get to the stage where there’s forgiveness and people can have dialogue and come to some sort of common ground or compromise. But again, once all this is happening, it’s very hard to do that.”

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