Jack Nicklaus Calls Greg Norman an 'Icon' But Admits They 'Don't See Eye-to-Eye'
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Despite resisting the urge to return since his 2005 sendoff at the British Open, Jack Nicklaus is in St. Andrews this week to receive honorary citizenship and take part in the celebration of the 150th playing of The Open.
Greg Norman, a two-time winner of the tournament, is not here at the behest of the R&A, which disclosed it did not invite the Hall of Famer due to the distraction it feared his presence might cause in the wake of his involvement with LIV Golf and the recent player defections.
Due to that association, there has been some bad blood between Nicklaus and Norman of late, a subject the Golden Bear did his best to avoid on Monday at the Old Course, where he met with the media in advance of Tuesday’s ceremonies.
Asked about the decision by the R&A to not invite Norman, Nicklaus said he was not aware of the reasons.
“Let me just sum this up with a couple of words,’’ Nicklaus said. “First of all, Greg Norman is an icon in the game of golf. He's a great player. We've been friends for a long time, and regardless of what happens, he's going to remain a friend. Unfortunately, he and I just don't see eye-to-eye in what's going on. I'll basically leave it at that.’’
Norman, 67, last month criticized Nicklaus in a Washington Post story, saying Nicklaus was a “hypocrite’’ for comments he made that while he took a call from the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, he was not interested due to his long-time affiliation with the PGA Tour.
“One hundred percent truth? Jack’s a hypocrite,’’ Norman said. “When he came out with those comments, I’m thinking: Jack must have a short memory.’’
Norman said that Nicklaus – who said he was offered a lucrative ambassador role with LIV before Norman was brought on board – wrote in an email that the new league had his blessing.
“Quote-unquote, he said: “This is good for our game. If it’s good for the game of golf, it’s good by me,’’’ Norman said. “So you want the facts? You’ve got the facts. Know what you said before you open your mouth.’’
Nicklaus wasn’t in St. Andrews to get in the middle of the game’s biggest controversy.
A good number of family members, including his wife Barbara, made the trip as he will be presented with honorary citizenship, an honor given previously to just two Americans: Benjamin Franklin and Bobby Jones.
“I declined to come back the last couple of times to St. Andrews; I played at St. Andrews because I made my farewell in 2005, and I didn't want to come back and dilute that for what it was. It was fantastic then,’’ he said of the 2005 tournament, when at age 65, Nicklaus played his final major championship.
“But when I got the invitation this time to be an honorary citizen of St Andrews and to follow Bobby Jones and Benjamin Franklin, I've got to come back. So to be back is fantastic. We brought the weather with us, in case you didn't notice that. But this is about the same weather we had in 2005 when we played. It was beautiful.
“Anyway, it's great to be back. We're back actually at the same hotel room I was in, Barbara and I stayed in every time we've been at St. Andrews. And we're looking forward to a great couple days.’’
Nicklaus, who won The Open three times among his 18 majors titles, won twice at St. Andrews, in 1970 and 1978.