The battle between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf Collection isn’t ending anytime quickly. Neither, it seems, is the disagreement between Greg Norman and Brandel Chamblee.
Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV, unloaded on the longtime Golf Channel analyst after Chamblee declared final month that Norman (together with Phil Mickelson) ought to be kicked out of the World Golf Corridor of Fame for his or her roles within the controversial new league that has poached plenty of high-profile gamers from the PGA Tour, together with Mickelson.
“I discover it laughable,” Norman advised the Palm Seashore Publish. “Has Brandel Chamblee ever been to Saudi Arabia? Has he ever constructed a golf course in a 3rd world nation? He’s a paid speaking bobblehead. That’s all he's. He’s bought my telephone quantity. He’s by no means picked up a telephone and requested me a query. Sadly, you’re making your self appear like a jerk. It’s like water off a duck’s again to me.”
Chamblee responded to Norman’s feedback on Twitter, posting a screenshot of a textual content dialog between the 2 during which Norman referred to as Chamblee’s broadcasting model “refreshing.”
“Humorous how after I ‘name it like I see it’ about LIV, it’s not so refreshing to Greg,” Chamblee wrote, noting that the dialog occurred earlier than the inception of LIV Golf.
Norman, in the meantime, went on to debate the tenor of LIV Golf’s relationship — or lack thereof — with the PGA Tour. He insisted that he has “taken the excessive street” and really feels “sorry” for the Tour, which he believes has damage its repute due to its persistent anti-LIV Golf rhetoric. The Tour threatened from early on that it could droop any gamers who teed it up in LIV tournaments and has carried by means of with that edict by barring Mickelson and the others who've made the transfer from competing in its tournaments.
That hasn’t stopped plenty of notable gamers from making the leap.
Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are among the many largest names to defect. Three extra gamers — Henrik Stenson, Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak — additionally joined LIV this week forward of subsequent week’s event at Trump Nationwide Golf Membership in Bedminster, N.J.
On the crux of the divide are the massive sums of assured cash provided by LIV for its 54-hole, no-cut occasions and the Tour’s hardline stance in opposition to the group, which has additionally been broadly accused of getting used to sportswash Saudi Arabia’s human rights attrocities.
LIV Golf, which doesn't have a TV deal and reveals its occasions on-line solely for the time being, additionally made a splash this week, as first reported by The Publish, by luring analyst David Feherty away from NBC and Golf Channel. Charles Barkley may even meet with LIV, as The Publish reported.
In the meantime, neither the Tour or Norman appear to be backing down.
“They introduced it on themselves,” Norman stated of the Tour. “We haven’t carried out something apart from placing collectively a enterprise mannequin and giving unbiased contractors a proper to earn a dwelling doing one thing else, in addition to nonetheless being a member of the PGA Tour. All the enterprise mannequin from the bottom up was constructed to coexist throughout the ecosystem of gold, coexist throughout the majors.
“… That could be a testomony to their stupidity, fairly actually. As a substitute of sitting down and taking a telephone name from us and simply say, ‘Hey, work this out. We are able to do it.’ It’s a simple repair. It’s ridiculous.”
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