Is Greg Norman the worst salesman of all time?
The Great White Shark is his own worst enemy
I used to make fun of Greg Norman for famously choking in major tournaments, until it stopped being funny.
Despite being the clear #1 golfer in the world for a substantial time in his prime, Norman ended up with two major victories, blowing massive leads at The Masters, the U.S. Open, etc. When the worlds greatest player never, ever, wins a major tournament in the United States, that’s telling.
Then, he made another fortune in his terrible merchandise and golf course design. Indeed, he’s acknowledged that his greatest victory was not on the course, but in getting control of his business. That’s sad (for me), but you live your best life, Greg.
And, as noted here previously, he’s now the official head of the LIV Golf Tour, aka the Saudi Golf League, also informally known as “the league for anyone who doesn’t care about anything but earning that big bag of cash.” But many thought that the league was dead in the water after Phil Mickelson was quoted saying, essentially, that even though the Saudis are obviously evil, it was worth taking their money because of how it could force the PGA to be more player friendly. After that leaked, notable players like Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, long rumored to join the Saudi Golf League, publicly said they weren’t interested.
But the point of the Saudi Golf League isn’t to have all the stars, or be hyper competitive, etc. It’s to associate the country with something else besides their horrible human rights violations, etc.
This is the goal of the LIV league. And yet, they’re dumb enough to put Greg Norman in charge. Here’s some quotes today:
“We’ve respected the Masters and let it go off, but now our journey is finally coming to fruition —for the players, not for me,” Norman told the newspaper. “Their rightful place to have what they want. That’s why they are still very, very, very interested. We have players signed, contrary to the white noise you’re hearing out there.
My god, let’s unpack JUST this.
They respect The Masters? One of, if not THE most respected tournaments not just in golf but in sport? How nice of you.
And I do appreciate the “…for the players, not for me” which is such a tell. Clearly, Norman is getting a percentage here, and he’s already dreaming of the way his wallet will bulge. Pointing out it’s not about him is such a tell.
And “…to have what they want” without any details is just the reveal that this, in fact, is what they want:
Rumors now suggest that a few players we have long known are interested - Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, two guys at the end of their careers who have decided the best course of action is to just get a huge check to add to their already huge bank accounts. In addition, Bubba Watson and Kevin Na seem to be the next two up. And we’ve always known Jason Kokrak, who is sponsored by Saudi Golf, would be involved.
These are not exactly guys who are going to put butts in seats. But of course, it’s the guy running this thing that should convince us otherwise, right?
Um.
“Quite honestly, it doesn’t matter who plays, we’re going to put the event on,” he said. “There’s a $4 million first prize. I hope a kid who’s 350th in the world wins. It’ll change his life, his family’s life. And then a few of our events will go by and the top players will see someone winning $6 million, $8 million, and say ‘enough is enough, I know I can beat these guys week in week out with my hands tied behind my back’.”
Listen, Norman isn’t wrong here — at some point, yes, a top PGA golfer WILL get upset that someone who is by all accounts much worse than them at golf is earning more in a single event than they are likely to earn all year. And if the PGA doesn’t do anything about it, that could lead to more guys joining the LIV league. But you don’t say the quiet part out loud, you DOLT. Norman is yet another guy who has made a ton of money by putting his name on things, and thinks it makes him smart - and not just smart, smarter than almost anyone else. If he had been born in the United States, I’d worry he’d run for President.
Because again - do you want to watch the 350th best golfer play on a soulless course? Do you care if he makes a lot of money - blood money, to be clear? I don’t. Think about The Match, the silly competitions put on between two pro golfers (Phil and Tiger, Brooks Koepka and Bryson, etc.) for huge sums of money. I barely watch them and I’m a certifiable golf sicko.
Competition matters. And coming out and saying that the league doesn’t need to be competitive to win because all they care about is getting bigger names to hand bigger checks to is NOT a great marketing strategy. Will it work? Probably, by the Saudi’s definition. But I’m out.
And Greg Norman - who clearly doesn’t need the Saudi money (his net worth is estimated at $400,000,000) just sucks at his job.