Greg Norman 'I Don't Mind Being The Villain. I Have Thick Skin'

In a wide-ranging interview, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman hits back at Tiger and Rory, and reveals why his leadership has the PGA Tour "running scared"

- Michael Catling

If Greg Norman is feeling the pressure as the face of LIV Golf, he doesn’t appear to be showing it. A broad grin has already formed less than 30 seconds into our Zoom call as he leans back to survey the view from LIV’s plush offices in West Palm Beach, Florida. “It is pretty damn good, I can tell you that,” he says, before eventually turning his attention to a pile of notes in front of him.

This will be his home for much of this week. He has a three-day summit lined up with the principal players of every franchise team, as well as discussions with his executive team about the structure of the new LIV Golf League.

Ordinarily he would have been at the QBE Shootout, the same tournament he founded and has hosted since 1989. His fingerprints are all over it; except the PGA Tour don’t want him to be there. Not now. And probably not in the future. The 67-year-old Aussie has lost a lot of friends because of his involvement with LIV Golf. He’s also managed to incur the wrath of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who have led calls for him to step aside for the good of the game.

The two-time Open champion has stayed relatively silent until now. But in his first big interview since rumours started circulating that former TaylorMade CEO Mark King has been lined up as his successor, Norman insists he is going nowhere.

He also pushed back against “the agenda” being driven by Tiger and Rory, and pulled no punches as he spoke about the weaknesses of the Official World Golf Ranking, how his leadership has Jay Monahan running scared, and why the PGA Tour should be thankful for everything he and LIV have done…

Let’s start with a reflection on a crazy year. How would you sum up LIV’s success and the impact you’ve had on the world of golf?