“From dead in the water to an important part of the future” – LIV CEO Greg Norman takes yet another jibe at Rory McIlroy
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is under fire. According to reports, the Saudi-backed series is set to replace the Australian from his post. Despite this, he continues to defend LIV.
Norman believes that LIV is an "important part" of golf's future. Reigning as the face of the controversial series, the Aussie on Thursday made a tweet showcasing just the same. He took a jibe at PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy, who had earlier slammed LIV by stating that it was "dead in the water."
Extending his continual support for LIV Golf, Greg Norman tweeted:
“From dead in the water to an important part of the future of golf all in 8 months. #LIVGolf has only just begun.”
Norman further stated that the series was set to become a "major force" in the game.
He added:
“It’s time for the major forces in golf to make the good of the game we all love the priority. @LIVGolfInv will continue to do its part.”
From dead in the water to an important part of the future of golf all in 8 months. #LIVGolf has only just begun.
It’s time for the major forces in golf to make the good of the game we all love the priority. @LIVGolfInv will continue to do its part.
While the tweet was a plain one in support of the series, fans were quick to catch the reference in it. The "dead in the water" reference in the tweet was an apparent jibe at Rory McIlroy, a staunch opponent of LIV.
In February, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau announced their loyalty to the PGA Tour. The golfers announced that they wouldn't be defecting to LIV. Following this, McIlroy was asked to comment on the same. Replying to the reporter's question of whether the' threat' of the breakaway series had been diverted, the Irishman slammed the rebel series.
Speaking after his final round at the Genesis Invitational in February, Rory McIlroy said:
"Yeah, who's left? Who's left to go? I mean, there's no one. It's dead in the water in my opinion. I just can't any reason why anyone would go."
However, things went downhill since the comments as both Johnson and DeChambeau jumped ships to join LIV. The two golfers accepted hefty paychecks to join the rebel series. They join a list of other high-profile names who are playing LIV. The golfers' defection forced some harsh comments from McIlroy on that as the Greg Norman-led tour.
Norman seems to have clapped back at the Irish golfer by making the "dead in the water" comment.
Rory McIlroy appeared to take a dig at LIV golf CEO Greg Norman, after McIlroy overtook Norman's number of PGA Tour wins with his 21st title at the Canadian Open... 👀⛳ https://t.co/0FA84yzqj3
Greg Norman called out Rory McIlroy's hypocritical stance
This isn't the first time Greg Norman and Rory McIlroy have been involved in a verbal spat over LIV Golf. Both athletes have made strong comments about each other on multiple occasions. This included the time Norman called McIlroy a "hypocrite" over his stance on the rebel series.
Norman was replying to McIlroy's claim that Norman was causing problems for golf when he called the Irishman a 'hypocrite.'
The former world No.1 called on the current No.1 to reconsider his stance on LIV. Slamming McIlroy, Norman said that he was acting 'one-sided' by accusing fellow golfers of joining LIV Golf.
Speaking in an interview with Piers Morgan about Rory McIlroy's attack on LIV golfers, Greg Norman said:
“Well, my message is, Rory, you’re an independent contractor. You have the right to make your decision. Remember, Rory started on the European tour. Then Rory decided to leave the European tour to go play where all the money is, where I went to play, to the PGA Tour… Don’t begrudge the other players for making a decision… It’s just a shame that people have taken this stance, when you look back over a period of time, they’ve pretty much done the same thing themselves.”
The duo has engaged in multiple verbal to-and-fros since then, the latest being Norman's tweet.