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Greg Norman hits back at Rory McIlroy before LIV Golf’s season opener: ‘Rory doesn’t know anything’

LIV Golf's second season kicked off Friday in Mexico.

Greg Norman
Rory McIlroy was among those who called for Greg Norman to step down as LIV Golf’s CEO. (Luke Walker/WME IMG/Getty Images)

It took him several months, but Greg Norman finally has a response for Rory McIlroy.

“I’m still here, simple as that.”

Norman spoke to Golf.com ahead of LIV Golf’s season opener Friday in Mexico and responded to McIlroy directly after the Northern Irishman openly called for Norman's job a few months ago.

“Rory doesn’t know anything, right? All due respect to Rory, he doesn’t know anything about LIV. He knows something about the PGA Tour. I’ve always been a fan of Rory McIlroy’s," Norman said. "My advice to him is just sit back, take stock, watch what you say because in the end, there will be a situation where he’ll be asked a few questions that he may not want to be answering.”

McIlroy has been among the loudest voices against the controversial Saudi Arabian-backed golf league since it started last year. He has helped lead several PGA Tour initiatives to counter LIV Golf and has launched a new league with Tiger Woods.

In November, McIlroy took aim at Norman directly. If the two leagues — which are currently in a legal battle — are to come together again, McIlroy believes, it won’t be with Norman around.

“I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to exit stage left,” McIlroy said. “He’s made his mark, but I think now is the right time to sort of say, 'Look, you've got this thing off the ground, but no one is going to talk unless there's an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.’”

McIlroy said that it was an interview in which Norman called him “brainwashed” that ruined their relationship.

“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,'” McIlroy said in November.

But despite the rumors that he was going to be replaced and all the criticism that comes with the league, Norman is in charge as LIV Golf plays its first of 14 events this weekend at Mayakoba Resort in Mexico.

And in the end, he still thinks his league can transform the sport.

“To be honest with you, when all this dust settles, the game of golf is going to be better off,” Norman told Golf.com. “Because you can have both [leagues], and I’m looking forward to that day.”

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