Norman disappears into his own bunker
Golf’s Norman conquest – make that the Greg Norman conquest – is ready to be launched in England’s ancient Roman stronghold of St Albans.
The Australian entrepreneur’s controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series flag has been planted at the plush Centurion Club amid fevered talk that the sport is about to be plunged into a battle for its future, if not its very soul.
The pre-tournament skirmishes have been brutal, with a host of the world’s best golfers left battered and bloodied by media ready to skewer them as moneygrabbing PR men for a discredited Saudi Arabian regime.
Yet, one by one, from
Phil Mickelson to Dustin Johnson to Ian Poulter, they’ve braved the public flogging to protest they’re ready to march into their brave new world of shotgun starts, team golf and entertainment-laden tournaments with missionary zeal.
Er, just one thing. Where’s their general in the Crocodile Dundee hat? For Norman, while apparently on site behind the scenes at Centurion this week, has, rather remarkably, been nowhere to be seen in the public buildup to the event.
The LIV staff at the venue have fielded plenty of requests for the everforthright 67-year-old CEO to talk up his gamechanging event, the richest anywhere in golf so far this year – but they’ve been told he won’t speak in this week’s buildup. Perhaps he’s wary of being thrown to the social media lions again after his Sharkmauling last month for answering questions over Saudi Arabian human rights abuses and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the comment: ‘‘We’ve all made mistakes. . .’’
Instead, his only comments this week have been to the Washington Post, revealing Tiger Woods had spurned a near-billion dollar incentive to join LIV, accusing the saintly Jack Nicklaus of being a ‘hypocrite’ and suggesting LIV non-believer Rory McIlroy was being brainwashed.
Perhaps that was enough controversy to be going on with.
So Norman has left it to LIV’s big-name recruits to face the inquisition instead of him – and it hasn’t been pretty.
Mickelson was asked if he was comfortable being seen as a Saudi stooge. Johnson was put on the spot about putting cash before country. Poulter was grilled about whether he’d play in a tournament run by Russian leader Vladimir Putin if the money was right.
Yet never mind his recruits taking a verbal pounding, Norman can surely only be quietly celebrating a series of significant victories for LIV this week.
With Johnson and Kevin Na deserting the PGA Tour, and Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed now being reported to be jumping on to the LIV ship too, Norman’s venture will have at least nine major winners on board come the end of the month.
And that’s even before a ball has been struck. Actually, make that 16 balls simultaneously at the course in the shotgun start.