19th Hole
‘Petty, cheap, childish shot’ – Greg Norman slams R&A over Open Celebration of Champions snub
Earlier this year, the R&A decided not to permit special exemption to Greg Norman, that would have allowed him to take part at the 150th Open at St. Andrews.
Whilst the LIV CEO maintained he was “disappointed with their decision, particularly given it is the 150th Open,” and that he had “been a staunch proponent of the R&A since 1977 and a proud Champion Golfer of the Year–twice,” the committee were insistent they were not altering any exemption rules.
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Then, a few days before the historic major, the R&A informed Norman he was not welcome at the Celebration of Champions, insisting the event was to focus on, “celebrating the Championship and its heritage. Unfortunately, we do not believe that would be the case if Greg were to attend.”
Now, in October, that episode is still rankling with the two-time winner of the Claret Jug.
Norman appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored recently to discuss much about the split in golf, and how the status quo have treated him since LIV started getting momentum and huge media coverage, and he still regards the actions of the R&A as a “petty, cheap, childish shot.”
Norman believes he has the good of golf at heart, and his record proves it:
“I’ll be honest with you, at times, my heat shield gets a little bit weak because I am a human being. I’ve done a lot for the game of golf. I was number one player in the world for six years. I’ve done things in the game of golf, I promoted the game of golf, I’ve grown the game of golf globally.”
He continued, “I took a mission on myself as an individual player to fly all around the world. I was the first guy to do an exhibition match in mainland China. I was one of the first guys to go into the Middle East and, through my golf and business at the same time, I continue to do that. So, when they do these… What happened in the R&A was a petty, cheap, childish shot, to be honest with you. If you can’t rise above it all then shame on you.”
That was one of the many topics openly discussed, and as the title of the programme suggests, there were no holds barred.
About the PGA Tour’s attitude to LIV, Norman insisted there was much duplicity surrounding the opposition:
"The hypocrisy coming out of this is so deafening it's ridiculous. We're challenging the monopolist."
Don't miss Greg Norman discussing criticism from the PGA Tour and more on tonight's PMU.@SharkGregNorman | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV pic.twitter.com/dW2frCuyuy
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) September 26, 2022
Norman expanded, “For you not to sit down and have a discussion and to understand what the LIV business model is and to see how it sits within the ecosystem, shame on you. In business, remember we’re a commercial entity, in business, you understand what your opponent’s got, you understand what your competitor’s got, unpack it all to see if you can actually work together within the system to make both entities better for each other, not try and destroy us. We haven’t tried to destroy the PGA Tour.”
Norman insists that he has lost friends over his involvement with the Saudi backed tour – “If they want to judge me on lack of information, they’re the ones with the small mind,” and asks one of LIV’s most fervent opponents, Rory McIlroy not to “begrudge other players.”
The full interview can be viewed on PMU’s YouTube channel,.
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19th Hole
‘F*** around and find out’ – Phil Mickelson fires warning shot over LIV’s access to majors in since-deleted tweet
On Sunday, the social media account “Flushing It” made a post about the importance of LIV Golf ensuring that their players have major championship eligibility going forward.
Never has there been a more obvious example of the immediate issue LIV faces than today. The Volvo China Open was played for a $2.25 million purse and several players qualified for the PGA Championship at Valhalla. LIV Golf Singapore played for a purse more than 10 times that…
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) May 5, 2024
“LIV can have the grandest of plans for their future but getting players access to major championships should be their number 1 priority. Especially with the major exemptions running out fast and nearly all player contracts up for renewal this year and next.”
Phil Mickelson then responded to the post, warning the golf world that excluding LIV players from majors will have unintended consequences, saying “FAAFO” which means “f*** around and find out”.
“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO”
His post has since been deleted, but there are plenty of screenshots out there.
??????? #FAAFO — LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson has sent a clear message to the powers that be, when it comes to LIV players and their access into majors: “F—k around and find out.”@flushingitgolf | @PhilMickelson pic.twitter.com/kVEL7VR6UN
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 5, 2024
It will be easier said than done, but it does appear that some sort of agreement between LIV and the majors could be coming in the future if the PGA Tour and LIV aren’t able to mend fences.
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19th Hole
Greg Norman reveals plan for LIV to own all their golf courses and each team to have a home venue
In an interview with Bloomberg, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman discussed the current state of LIV and what it means for the future of professional golf.
In the interview, Norman said he believes that LIV has been welcomed with “open arms.”
“Our product is received with open arms by many, but a few want to try and stop us for all the wrong reasons. They haven’t been able to sustain their position in the game of golf. What we have done brilliantly is injected more capital. Golf is finally looked upon as an asset class.”
Interestingly, Norman also revealed future plans for LIV to own all the courses they play and have home courses for each team.
“Man United owns their stadium. Indian Premier League, they own their stadiums. NFL, they own their stadiums. Think about LIV owning all their own golf courses, each team having a home venue and they host. And now you can build out around that. It’s not just a golf course. You bring in education, you bring in hospitality, you bring in real estate, you bring in merchandise, you bring in management, you bring in all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community, to a region. We are gonna be doing that.
“The Philippines are very keen to get us there. Golf in the Philippines is doing very well. We are not just sport, we’re sports and entertainment and culture. So no matter where we go in the world, we adjust what we need to deliver from an entertainment standpoint.”
Norman also talked about his time as the number one player in the world when the best players in the world didn’t always play on the same tour.
“That never happened anyway. Right? I was number one player in the world. Very seldom did I go and play in the United States or Europe or Asia or anything. Did I play against the best in the world outside the four majors and maybe the TPC? They’re the five, right? So very, very seldom did that happen. We got all paid appearance money to go play somewhere.”
Norman added that LIV “isn’t going anywhere.”
“My boss told me LIV is not going to go anywhere. It will be well and truly in operation, running well past his death – he’s a young guy.”
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”
In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.
Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”
“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”
“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”
View this post on Instagram
Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.
If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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