Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JUST GET RID OF THE SHARK & FINS WILL GET BETTER
Rory: Norman has to ’exit stage left’ before golf can find peace ...we need an adult in the room
RORY MCILROY wants LIV Golf to sack ringmaster Greg Norman as a pre-condition for peace talks in the divided sport.
“Greg needs to go,” said the world No.1. “He needs to exit stage left.”
The Northern Irishman has been a fierce critic of the Saudi breakaway league and its Aussie chief executive.
Mcilroy recently softened his tone and said a compromise has to be found with the established tours.
But speaking ahead of tomorrow’s DP World Tour Championship first round in Dubai, Mcilroy made clear Norman is not part of the solution.
“There are a few things I would like to see on the LIV side before talks can begin,” Mcilroy said. “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, ‘Look, you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.’”
The pair’s feud has seen Mcilroy publicly celebrate overtaking Norman’s mark of 20 PGA titles and state he wants to surpass the Great White Shark’s total of 331 weeks as world No.1.
Norman hit back by labelling Mcilroy a “hypocrite” for previously asking for large appearance fees to play in Saudi Arabia. He also claimed stars like Mcilroy and Tiger Woods should be “thankful” for the changes – and money – LIV have brought to golf.
Both the US and DP tours have increased prize money and introduced minimum earnings for players on tour. All PGA Tour players who tee up in 15 events will be guaranteed £420,000.
LIV are involved in separate lawsuits against the PGA and DP World Tours. The latter will be heard in February and will decide if European stars like Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are allowed to feature – they currently tee it up under a court injunction – and make Ryder Cup teams.
“Nothing can happen if those two things are going on,” Mcilroy added. “Right now it is a bit of a stalemate.”
LIV will extend its schedule to 14 events next year and start in Adelaide in April.
In Dubai, Mcilroy has the chance to complete the Fedex Cup and the DP World Tour rankings double.
He leads Kiwi Ryan Fox by 128.1 points while US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are close behind.
Defending champ Collin Morikawa is absent due to “some upcoming personal commitments” including his wedding later this month.