LIV chief executive Greg Norman described Rory McIlroy’s stunning backflip on the Saudi-backed tour as a “significant turning point” for golf.
McIlroy initially said he would rather walk away from the sport than play in LIV, even “if it was the last place to play golf on earth”.
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However, the Northern Irishman shocked many during an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast when he said he was “maybe a little judgmental” of those who were lured from the PGA Tour to the riches of LIV Golf.
McIlroy also said he would happily play in LIV if it became a similar format to the IPL in cricket in that it occupied a dedicated chunk in the golf calendar.
Norman, who had been embroiled in a war of words with McIlroy among many others in golf since LIV’s inception, welcomed McIlroy’s change in stance and felt it was inevitable everyone will eventually get to the same point.
“The reason I say I appreciate Rory falling on his sword, to some degree, is the fact that he did judge us by not knowing the facts,” Norman said on LIV’s Fairway to Heaven podcast.
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“He judged us on other people’s thoughts and opinions.
“So, I say, ‘hey, thank you Rory’. We all knew it was going to work within the golf ecosystem. We all wanted to be there, we are going to be there – he said that.
“To me, this is a hugely significant turning point for everybody.”
Norman’s comments come after Phil Mickelson, one of the first to jump ship from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, called for those on both sides of golf’s civil war to “let go of our hostilities” after McIlroy’s comments.
“This quote and the many others made … by Rory probably weren’t easy to say,” said Mickelson in an post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Let’s not use this as an opportunity to pile on. Rather, it’s time for me and others to let go of our hostilities and work towards a positive future.”
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