First, it was Rory McIlroy, then it was Tiger Woods. And when it comes to Greg Norman, nothing is ever simple.
The question of whether Norman should stay or go as LIV Golf chief executive is evoking all types of responses. Two weeks ago, McIlroy said Norman must exit the Saudi-backed venture for there to be any hope of peace.
Yesterday Woods weighed in, using his own tournament in the Bahamas this week to echo McIlroy’s calls for Norman to stand down “so we can talk freely”.
Ask Norman’s LIV stars who have joined for exorbitant sign-on fees, and there’s a defence, as you would expect.
“He believes in what he does,” world No.3 Cameron Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “Maybe sometimes Greg comes off a little bit abrasive, but he’s just trying to get a point across. He really does believe in this thing.
“I’ve spoken to him a million times the last four or five events. He believes in it and he thinks it’s a good product. If you were [to attend] Miami, it’s hard to see how it’s not going to work. Miami was such a turnout. It was unbelievable. The atmosphere was awesome.
Tiger Woods said if Greg Norman is sacked then “we can all talk freely”.Credit:AP
“They’ve gone about things a little bit differently as far as golf is concerned, but they believe in the product and that’s what you want.”
The only problem is the biggest voices in world golf don’t believe in Norman, and it’s becoming very personal. Whether Norman exits the LIV Golf scene, or moves into an upstairs role, remains to be seen. He flew to Australia to launch the Adelaide event in early November, which should be a message in itself.
But in a week where the Australian Open is creating history with a dual-gender event, the LIV sideshow has again proved inescapable after Woods’ comments.
Adam Scott was asked about it. He’s been in the middle of it all year, expressing interest in LIV, attending a players-only meeting to help the PGA Tour combat LIV, and essentially keeping everyone guessing. He’s staying put for now.
“Well, clearly from Rory and Tiger I guess they’re speaking for the PGA Tour somewhat these days,” Scott said. “It seems that’s the case.
“I generally feel like LIV should get on with what they’re doing and the PGA Tour should get on with what they’re doing and it’ll sort out – whether that’s together or not, I have no clue. But I don’t necessarily think that it has to be together or not together for the good of the game. I think the good of the game will prevail, but it’s a big shake up, and we’re not used to that.”
Leishman, a LIV Golf teammate of Smith, is not one for an outlandish statement.
He described Norman as having done a “good job” in recruiting the calibre of player he has in LIV’s first season. But the affable Victorian did break ranks, somewhat, to suggest he would be open to playing 72-hole events if it meant LIV players could earn rankings points.
“I think if that’s what it took, I think I would be open to it,” Leishman said. “But one of the things that we knew when we went over to LIV was that there might not be world ranking points and that was one of the things I certainly took into account when making a decision.
“So again, that’s out of my control. I’ll go about my business and if we get them – which I hope we do – I would love that. I don’t know what will happen if not, but I think it should happen.”
The Australian Open will begin across both Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs on Thursday with the men and women playing alongside each other in a national championship for the first time in history.
Watch the Australian Open on the 9Network and 9Now from December 1-4.
