Former European captain Bernard Gallacher has hit out at Greg Norman, describing him as 'confrontational', whilst accusing LIV Golf of 'undermining' the Ryder Cup. LIV continued their attack against the sport's traditions last week, after announcing the capture of Henrik Stenson.
Whilst Stenson is no longer the star-studded player he once was, he is arguably Norman's biggest coup yet after the Swede gave up the chance to captain Europe at next year's Ryder Cup in Rome to make the Saudi switch. Golfers have been warned that if they make the LIV move they run the risk of losing a Ryder Cup spot, and this was the case for the Swede.
The breakaway circuit's playing roster is full of a number of Team Europe stalwarts, with the likes of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood all having made the controversial switch last month.
A number of defectors have revealed they hope that LIV Golf membership and Ryder Cup qualification can work in tandem, with the hope the LIV and its fierce rivals the PGA and DP World Tour can come to some sort of agreement. But Gallacher believes if they do, series CEO Norman should not be the man to represent LIV's side of the talks.
Per the Metro, the former skipper said: "A conversation needs to be had and a compromise reached, but I’m not entirely convinced that Greg Norman is the man to have that conversation. I think some see him as quite a confrontational character, and you can see why.
"I've known Greg for many years and have played with him several times. He’s a very ambitious, savvy businessman but I think he’s always had an alternative vision for golf, which has now come to fruition in the form of LIV. Greg has a very bullish personality. His whole demeanour doesn’t lend itself well to having lots of friends, but we know he doesn’t care much about that.
"For me, there needs to be somebody in charge that’s amenable to the PGA and European Tours for it to work – Greg isn’t that person. He’s upset the apple cart and ruffled quite a few feathers already and LIV Golf is still in its infancy. It’s only going to get worse." Gallacher has quite the affinity with the Ryder Cup, having captained his continent on three occasions in the 1990's.
Hitting out at LIV Golf, the Scot believes the breakaway circuit is underwhelming one of the sport's most historic events. Gallacher commented: "If more and more money keeps getting pumped into LIV Golf, then more golfers will join, simple as that. The traditional Tours won’t be able to compete. We’re in a tricky position now where major champions are switching to LIV Golf and hence potentially not being able to defend their crowns. It’s undermining and devaluing golfing competitions on both sides of the Atlantic."
