It’s no exaggeration to say that Greg Norman has been a real thorn in the PGA Tour’s side for more than 30 years now.
The role that Norman played in the inception of LIV Golf in 2022 has been well-documented but he was at odds with the PGA Tour long before that.
Norman and the PGA Tour have been butting heads since 1994, when the Australian attempted to form a breakaway golf tour.
He never got the support from his fellow players in the end, though, and was made to wait 28 years before his dream finally came to fruition.
Norman has insisted that LIV Golf forced the PGA Tour into making changes which have benefitted the players and if truth be known, he has a real point.
How will history reflect on Greg Norman?
Has golf's great disruptor been vindicated?
“For him to try and trivialise what the greats before him did to grow and create what the PGA Tour is today is an absolute disgrace. You should hang your head in shame, Shark.”
Wayne Grady
“Let me just sum this up with a couple of words. First of all, Greg Norman is an icon in the game of golf. He’s a great player. We’ve been friends for a long time, and regardless of what happens, he’s going to remain a friend. Unfortunately, he and I just don’t see eye to eye in what’s going on [with LIV]. I’ll basically leave it at that.”
Jack Nicklaus
“Greg needs to go; he needs to exit stage left. 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.”
Rory McIlroy
However, it’s fair to say that the PGA Tour are in a stronger position right now than LIV are.
The Saudi-backed outfit appear to be struggling to make big-name signings from the PGA Tour.
Si Woo Kim was the latest name to reject LIV’s advances and things are very much up in the air right now ahead of the 2026 season.
Greg Norman created more opportunities for players on LIV and the PGA Tour
As the PGA Tour continues to thrive, LIV Golf seem to have stagnated.
However, they have changed their format to 72-hole tournaments next season and that should stand them in good stead when it comes to earning world ranking points.
In spite of that, it’s obvious to see that the PGA Tour still hold all of the cards. If those associated with LIV were being honest, they would probably admit that they’re not where they thought they would be in their development as a golf tour right now.
There were some suggestions that LIV was created to destroy the PGA Tour. However, that was never the case, according to Norman.
When speaking on the Mark Bouris YouTube channel, the two-time major champion spoke passionately about the intentions behind the formation of LIV Golf in 2022.
“I’m a disruptor. I see weaknesses,“ Norman exclaimed.
“It was truly was unfair to the players, not just Greg Norman in the day, to everybody.
“You think if Jack Nicklaus had his own IP, when he first came out there and Arnold Palmer, they’d be billionaires.
“And yet, here today, the institutions are making a lot of money. Now, with LIV, I gave the players that opportunity, and look what’s happened to the PGA Tour.
“Without LIV, well, what LIV did was it brought private equity into our sport. First time ever in 54 years. Outside money got invested in.
“That created an ROI, an opportunity to invest in production, marketing, hospitality, entertainment, fandom, all these new places popped up, innovation, because of the investment dollars that came into LIV, that’s where we put it, right? We had to grow.“
Greg Norman’s response to accusations that he wanted to destroy the PGA Tour
“The thing that bothers me the most about it is the perception that I was trying to destroy the PGA Tour. That is the total opposite.
“We were trying to work within the ecosystem. Competition is a wonderful thing. LIV was entertainment, concerts, different hospitality, music, all that stuff, plus teams.
“So the ecosystem was crying out for that, to have a counterbalance, and we proved it right. But the general public or perception from the media who probably had to take the tack that they had to take for certain reasons, created this angst out there in the world of golf.“
Norman is right in the sense that the formation of LIV created more financial opportunities for players on the PGA Tour.
The investment into the PGA Tour from SSG has and the subsequent Player Equity Programme has ensured that the top players are now earning more money than they would have before LIV came about.
However, Norman’s claim that he never intended to destroy the PGA Tour is debatable.
The Australian has always held a grudge against the PGA Tour, and if LIV Golf’s inception managed to bring them down, he surely wouldn’t have been too unhappy about that.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
