Greg Norman and Tiger Woods have a strenuous relationship, despite being titans in the game of golf now for multiple decades.
Tiger Woods and Greg Norman at the 2011 Presidents Cup
Norman is the CEO and effective leader of the highly controversial LIV Golf league. It’s not the first time he’s attempted to make an offshoot golf league to compete with the PGA Tour.
Woods, on the other hand, is a staunch PGA Tour defender and loyalist. He reportedly turned down an absurd $800 million to join the league. He and other PGA Tour loyalists would like to see the entire league disappear. Woods, Rory McIlroy, and others really believe Norman is a big problem for the game of golf to progress.
Why Tiger Woods probably doesn’t like Greg Norman
Although it hasn’t always been the case, they have had a tense relationship almost since Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996.
Tiger Woods and Greg Norman at the 2004 Open Golf Royal Troon
Greg Norman said he wouldn’t have picked Woods for the Presidents Cup in 2011, saying he didn’t think he was up to the level. He said (via Golf Channel):
“I can understand the name of a Tiger Woods and his history of what he’s done on the golf course. But I pick the guys who I think are ready to get in there and play and have performed to the highest levels leading up to it.”
He continued:
“Tiger, when he dominated, had a single-shot approach. It was only about the golf. Now there are so many distractions, and people are looking for things that are wrong with Tiger now, so he’s got to deal with that on a day-to-day basis, like every other mortal has to do, right? In our lives, in our business, we all have to be responsible for our actions. It’s very hard for him to have that focus. And the more he shuts people off, the worse it gets.”
He even said Woods wouldn’t win another Major, but of course, this didn’t hold true. Norman did say that he reached out to Woods to potentially extend some goodwill, but was largely ignored:
“When Tiger won the Masters this year (2019), I wrote him a handwritten note and drove down my road, maybe a quarter of a mile, and hand-delivered it to his guard at his gate.”
He continued:
“I said, ‘Hey, this is Greg Norman here. I’ve got a note for Tiger – can you please hand-deliver it to him?’ Well, I never heard a word back from the guy. When I won my first major championship, Jack Nicklaus was the first person to walk down out of the TV tower and congratulate me. I don’t know – maybe Tiger just dislikes me. I have no idea. I’ve never had a conversation with him about it.”