Greg Norman Has Harsh Words for PGA Tour Analyst

The war of words between backers of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continues to escalate.

The battles for players, prestige and even commentators has caused widespread divisions around the golf world, with David Feherty recently jumping ship to LIV as well.

It's not just words; recent news broke that the PGA Tour is dedicating extensive amounts of money to lobby politicians:

Now Greg Norman, ostensibly the front man for LIV's backers, had some very pointed criticism for commentators who have spoken out against him and the LIV golf model.

Just this past month, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee shared his thoughts on LIV, saying that Norman should be removed from the World Golf Hall of Fame for his current role.

Norman responded to that suggestion, and unsurprisingly did not take it well:

"'I find it laughable,” Norman told the Palm Beach Post. “Has Brandel Chamblee ever been to Saudi Arabia? Has he ever built a golf course in a third world country? He’s a paid talking bobblehead. That’s all he is. He’s got my phone number. He’s never picked up a phone and asked me a question. Sadly, you’re making yourself look like a jerk. It’s like water off a duck’s back to me.'" 

Chamblee immediately fired back, posting screenshots of a text conversation pre-dating LIV golf where Norman said Chamblee's commentary was "refreshing:"

Norman also explained that he believes in the LIV business model, saying that the PGA Tour asked for this kind of competition:

"'They brought it on themselves,” Norman said. 'We haven’t done anything other than putting together a business model and giving independent contractors a right to earn a living doing something else, as well as still being a member of the PGA Tour. The entire business model from the ground up was built to coexist within the ecosystem of gold, coexist within the majors.'"

The PGA-LIV fights are not going away anytime soon.

The two tours have forced fans, golfers and those associated with the game to choose sides based on their individual preferences.

Norman and Chamblee were apparently close enough to exchange friendly texts back and forth, but that's now changed, and might be a sign of more broken relationships yet to come.

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Ian Miller is a former award watching high school actor, author, and long suffering Dodgers fan. He spends most of his time golfing, traveling, reading about World War I history, and trying to get the remote back from his dog. Follow him on Twitter @ianmSC