“To be as much of a pain in his a*se” - Rory McIlroy is giving LIV CEO Greg Norman a tough time

The feud between World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman doesn't seem to be cooling down anytime soon.

"I thought, 'You know what? I'm going to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in his arse as possible,'" said McIlroy.

In a recent interview with Sunday Independent’s Paul Kimmage, McIlroy gave details about the start of his tussle with the LIV Golf CEO.

As per McIlroy, it all happened in 2020 when he said he didn't want to be on the wrong side of the history of Golf, just like Arnold Palmer's position against the similar concept of the World Tour in the 90s.

According to the Irish star, this was what offended the LIV Golf CEO. Interestingly, Norman was associated with the concept of the World Tour too.

"Norman wasn’t happy, and we had a pretty testy back-and-forth and he was very condescending, 'Maybe one day you’ll understand,' and all this s***," McIlroy said in the second part of a three-piece interview series.

The World No. 1 has been firm on his stance against the Saudi-backed league and has raised voice against LIV Golf from time to time. He has been leading the pack for the PGA Tour in this battle. Recently, McIlroy had asked Norman to step down from the CEO's position in order for there to be any kind of negotiation between the rival tours.

Legend and Rory's good friend Tiger Woods also echoed similar sentiments when he was asked about it prior to the Hero World Challenge last week.

However, as per McIlroy, he did reach out to the LIV Golf CEO when he saw Norman's documentary on Netflix earlier this year. It was about his Sunday collapse at the 1996 Masters.

"He was great," Mcllroy said. "So I said to him, 'Watching it reminded me of how you reached out to me in 2011, and I just want to say that I’ll always appreciate it. It meant a lot. I know our opinion on the game of golf right now is very different, but I just wanted you to know that and wish you all the best.'"

McIlroy said that Norman reciprocated well, which made McIlroy think that they had called it a truce.

"I really think golf can be a force for good around the world … I know our opinions are not aligned but I’m just trying to create more opportunities for every golfer around the world," these were Norman's words as per McIlRoy.

However, a few weeks after that conversation, Norman went on to say in his interview with The Washington Post that the World No. 1 was “brainwashed by the PGA Tour.” This did not sit well with McIlroy.

"I’m like 'For f*** sake!' We’ve had this really nice back-and-forth and he says that about me, I thought, You know what? I’m going to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in his arse as possible," Mcllroy said in his interview with Paul Kimmage.

---

"I pay zero attention to McIlroy and Woods" - Greg Norman

Greg Norman (Image via Getty)

A week earlier, Norman had an interview with Today's Golfer, where he hit back at both McIlroy and Tiger Woods, saying that he gives no attention to them or their opinions.

“I pay zero attention to McIlroy and Woods, right?,” Norman said. “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.”