ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman are going to have to agree to disagree on the state of men’s professional golf.
When asked to comment on the R&A’s decision to not invite Norman, a two-time winner of the Claret Jug in 1986 and 1993, to the Celebration of Champions and the Champions’ Dinner and golf exhibition to be played on Monday, Nicklaus at first demurred.
“I don’t know much about it, to be honest with you,” Nicklaus said.
But eventually he weighed in on Norman’s role with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which continues to make waves in the world of golf.
“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.”
The R&A released a statement over the weekend that read: “The 150th Open is an extremely important milestone for golf and we want to ensure that the focus remains on celebrating the championship and its heritage. Unfortunately, we do not believe that would be the case if Greg were to attend. We hope that when circumstances allow Greg will be able to attend again in future.”
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