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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