‘Watch What You Say:’ LIV CEO Greg Norman Has Strong Words for Rory McIlroy

Norman responded to McIlroy calling for the LIV Golf CEO to step down from his position.

Greg Norman has a message for Rory McIlroy: take a step back. 

Norman’s words for McIlroy are in response to the Northern Irishman’s public call for the LIV Golf CEO to step down from his position.

In a sit-down video interview with Golf.com, Norman addressed McIlroy’s comments and spoke on several other controversies that continue to complicate the power struggle between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league and the PGA Tour. 

In November, McIlroy told the media that Norman “needs to exit stage left.” The 2022 Tour Champion asserted that discussions between the PGA Tour and LIV will not commence unless there is an “adult in the room.” 

Now, Norman is claiming that McIlroy’s take on his leadership role is uninformed. 

“Rory doesn’t know anything, right? All due respect, Rory. He doesn’t know anything about LIV,” Norman said to Golf.com. 

"All due respect to Rory, he doesn't know anything about LIV."

Greg Norman sounds off on Rory's criticism and LIV's path forward.

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Norman then referenced McIlroy’s position on the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, citing its lack of control in comparison to that of the PGA Tour Board of Directors. 

“He knows something about the PGA Tour, he sits on the PAC council. It doesn’t have the power that you think because the board has the power, right? Rory doesn’t know what he’s talking about because he doesn’t know the facts,” Norman said.  

Norman then went on to give the four-time major champion some words of advice. The Australian even referenced a potential “situation” in which McIlroy will have to respond to unwanted questions.

“I’ve always been a fan of Rory McIlroy’s,” Norman said. “My advice to him would be, just sit back, take stock, watch what you say, because in the end there will be a situation where, you know, he’ll be asked a few questions that he may not want to be answering.”

In January, McIlroy told the media that he was served a subpoena on Christmas Eve among the ongoing legal fight between the two tours, though it is not clear whether Norman was referencing that situation.

During the remainder of the interview, Norman and other LIV Golf members such as Brooks Koepka and Joaquin Niemann touch on another hot topic: the personal tension between PGA Tour players and members of the new breakaway league. 

McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Freddie Couples and others have been vocal about their opposition to the Saudi-backed circuit, but Norman thinks such players have been pushed to share that narrative.

“There are going to be a few who are probably being asked to be vitriolic against the LIV guys for whatever reason,” Norman said. “. . . Until you completely understand what you’re talking about, don’t open your mouth, because you’ll only embarrass yourself.”

“. . . That’s my read on it, to be honest with you,”