A lot of notable golfers have made their opinions very clear about LIV Golf, but one person who has tried to stay out of the fray is PGA Tour legend Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus has been relatively silent as several PGA golfers have left to play with LIV Golf. When asked about it, Nicklaus has often declined to get into details, other than to say he was offered a role and declined.
The British Open is celebrating its 150-year anniversary and is the last major of the season for the PGA Tour. Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf and two-time Open winner, was not invited to any events this week at St. Andrews for the 2022 Open Championship. This time, when asked about it, Nicklaus couldn’t help but provide some answers, though he still found a way to sidestep the main question.
“I don’t know much about it, to be honest with you,” said Nicklaus when asked about the standoff between Norman and the R&A, which runs the Open. “I really don’t know anything about what they did. I know they did that [not invite Norman] but I don’t know any more about that.”
When pushed further about the LIV and Norman’s involvement, Nicklaus finally gave a little more specifics.
“Let me just sum this up with a couple of words,” said the 18-time major winner. “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 on what’s going on. I’ll basically leave it at that.”
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus when asked if two-time major champion Greg Norman's reputation has been harmed by his involvement with Saudi-backed LIV golf tour:
"He and I just don't see eye-to-eye in what's going on. I'll basically leave it at that." pic.twitter.com/CK1FzlJhoD
— The Recount (@therecount) July 11, 2022
Kind words considering the fact that Norman called Nicklaus “a hypocrite” a month ago.
That is about as much of “I don’t like LIV Golf” you’ll get from the 18-time major champion. While he didn’t say much, he said enough to get his point across.
