To many looking in from the outside towards golf, Greg Norman might be one of the more polarising figures to ever grace the game, both as a player and in his role as LIV Golf CEO.
Norman was never shy of sharing an opinion as a player and was one of the box office stars of his time.
Obviously, Norman has become an even bigger figure in the game thanks to his role with the PIF-back LIV Golf. Norman has been the CEO since the league’s inception and has been considered a key player in getting LIV off the ground and crucially, attracting some of the world’s best players.
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Of course, those outside of LIV can often by critical of him and even Tiger Woods has suggested Norman step away from proceedings.
Indeed, Norman is believed to be moving to a new role within LIV at some point.
However, in terms of his reputation within LIV, it seems Norman is more than appreciated.
Cleeks GM Jonas Martensson shares how Greg Norman is really thought of inside LIV Golf
Speaking in an interview with The Mirror, Cleeks GC GM Martensson was asked about the opinion with LIV of Norman.
And according to Martensson, there are no issues, with Norman being a popular figure.
“I think everyone really likes Greg,” Mårtensson said of the league’s CEO.
“There is no issues in terms of any confidence there. Hats off to Greg. I mean what he has done is amazing. It is not easy to run arguably the biggest start up in sports, or possibly in the world.
“What he has achieved is just amazing. I have found my interactions have been, first of all, a lot of respect.
“He is one of those legends I grew up watching, so it is fantastic to get to know him and learn from him a lot.”
Norman deserves a lot of credit
If you take any blinkers off around how the creation of LIV has impacted golf in general and the fall out because of it, then treating Norman’s role in pure isolation can only really bring praise.
As Martensson says here, Norman has effectively helped a start up company rise from nothing to being one of the most talked about in the world.
Yes, he’s had the backing of the billions that Saudi Arabia provides and that in itself brings its own controversies and talking points.
But looking purely at LIV as a new golf product, Norman deserves his flowers to some degree.
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