19th Hole

‘Mouthpiece for the PGA Tour’ – Greg Norman takes aim at Tiger Woods in latest interview

Published

2 years ago

Jan 23, 2023

A month away from LIV Golf’s first of seven declared 2023 events, it appears the rebel tour is no closer to repairing the rift between itself and the PGA Tour.

There has been no love lost between the stars of each tour either, with former friends and Ryder Cup team-mates Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia falling out over the Spaniard’s decision to jump ship.

Lately, focus has fallen on LIV chairman Greg Norman and his battles against both the current world number one and one of the greatest players of all-time, Tiger Woods, both players confirmed PGA Tour ambassadors.

Before hosting his own Hero World Challenge in December, Woods talked of Norman’s “animosity towards the [PGA] Tour” and said the only way of negotiating would be without the current chairman.

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

Just a few days later, we then reported that relations between Norman and McIlroy were improving, until the Aussie claimed Rory was “brainwashed by the PGA Tour.” That caused McIlroy to rethink, claiming:

“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,” with the four-time major winner claiming that the PGA Tour is lucky Norman is involved in LIV because, as he said, “if they had found someone less polarizing, LIV could have made more inroads.”

Now, in an interview with Fox News, Norman has claimed Woods’ comments were simply made to “create turmoil.”

The 67-year-old was speaking on the ‘One Nation with Brian Kilmeade’, when commenting that he feels “sad for Tiger that he unfortunately made a comment that he doesn’t know the facts of because obviously I’m still here.”

The two-time Open Championship winner then stated:

“Obviously, he doesn’t control what we do within LIV. Just making those comments, I think, is an indication that he could be a bit of a mouthpiece for the PGA Tour to try and get us to create turbulence internally LIV.”

Although the leadership of LIV has seen high-profile resignations, Norman remains steadfast at the helm, seemingly the chief spokesperson for all golf-related media. LIV finally has a TV deal, whatever that may be worth, and they intend LIV 2023 to be even louder, even bigger.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

3 hours ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

1 day ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

1 day ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.