Connect with us

19th Hole

Greg Norman says LIV door still open to Rory McIlroy

Published

on

Since the inception of LIV Golf, there’s been a bitter feud between LIV CEO Greg Norman and PGA Tour superstar Rory McIlroy.

According to McIlroy, it started with a “condescending” text message from Norman after Rory said he wasn’t interested in joining LIV.

“He (Norman) wasn’t happy, and we had a pretty testy back-and-forth and he was very condescending. ‘Maybe one day you’ll understand’ and all this (stuff),”

McIlroy then decided to attempt to be a thorn in the side of Norman going forward.

“I thought, you know what? I’m going to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in his a**e as possible,” he said.

Despite the personal issues between the two, “The Shark” recently told Bunkered that the door is still open for McIlroy to join LIV Golf.

“Our door is open for everybody, we’re not the PGA Tour. We’re not like that. We exist for the players, so we will always have an open door, whether that’s for Rory or Jordan Spieth or Justin Thomas or whoever.”

It seems unlikely that Rory would join LIV, especially as long as Norman is involved. He recently called for the 67-year-old to be removed from his leadership role with LIV.

“I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to exit stage left,” McIlroy said in his press conference ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“He’s made his mark, but I think now is the right time to say you’ve got this thing off the ground but no-one’s going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.”

Despite saying he’s welcome to join, Norman remained critical of the Northern Irishman’s comments about him needing to step down from his role of commissioner for LIV.

“Rory and Tiger have no idea what they’re talking about,” he told bunkered. “None whatsoever. I have got the full support from my chairman. One hundred per cent. One thousand per cent. There has never been one thing to suggest otherwise. But I know what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to bait me to draw me into a public back and forth with them and I’m not going to go down that childish path.  

“I’m totally confident, totally proud and totally committed to this job and that is building out LIV Golf in perpetuity and giving players and fans another kind of golf to enjoy. And what you’re already seeing is that LIV is a leader. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour, they’re followers.  

“LIV has already brought more value to the game by making reserve money, that had been sitting to one side, and finally getting it put into play. If it wasn’t for LIV, the PGA Tour would not have done what they’ve done. They’ve basically copied our homework.” 

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

19th Hole

TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

Published

on

This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

Your Reaction?
  • 12
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW2
  • LOL4
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

Published

on

In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 3
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

Published

on

Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

More from the 19th Hole

Your Reaction?
  • 2
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK2

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending