A magazine segment from Donald Trump 22 years ago has resurfaced where he slams the critics of Greg Norman as 'jealous'. Norman has no doubt been a controversial figure throughout his professional golf career.
And this heightened after the Australian spearheaded the newly-introduced LIV Golf Series, which is funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. His new role as LIV CEO has led to many within the sport slamming the former world No. 1.
One man who has always been a fan of Norman though, is former US President Trump who gave the Aussie a glowing reference when writing for Golf Digest in 2000.
Alluding to the controversial figure 22 years ago, the 45th President of the US wrote: "Greg can be controversial, but people who profess to have a problem with Greg are just jealous. He looks better than they do, he plays better than they do, and he’s a better businessman.
"When you have attributes other people don’t have, jealousy is a very common reaction.” 20 years on Norman is still facing criticism, and Trump has still remained loyal to him, having hosted Norman and the LIV circuit at his National Doral course in Miami during their maiden campaign in 2022.
Two of his most notable critics have been golfing giants Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who have both called on Norman to step down from his CEO role in order for the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to coexist peacefully. Speaking last month, McIlroy said : "I think Greg [Norman] needs to go, he needs to exit stage left.
"Look, he’s made his mark but now is the right time to say ‘look, you’ve got this thing [LIV Golf] off the ground but no one is going to talk unless there's an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences."
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This was echoed by the Northern Irishman's business partner Woods, who hit out at the former world No. 1 at last week's Hero World Challenge. He commented: "I think Greg has to leave, first of all. As Rory said, I think he has to leave and then we can eventually figure something out and talk freely. I think it has to start with leadership on their side, there is a lot of animosity."
Norman has since fired back at the PGA Tour pair, claiming he pays 'zero attention' to their comments. Addressing McIlroy and Woods, he told Today's Golfer: "I pay zero attention to McIlroy and Woods, right? They have their agenda for whatever reason. They’re saying whatever they want to say. It has no bearing or effect on me. I’m going to be with LIV for a long, long period of time.
