Greg Norman Breaks His Silence on LIV Golf Exit After Years of ‘Abuse’: ‘What Hurt Me the Most…’

When Greg Norman quietly stepped away from his role as CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf last month, it raised more than a few eyebrows. After all, the man once front and center of one of sport’s most disruptive ventures had suddenly vanished from view. Now, the 70-year-old Aussie golf icon has finally broken his silence on his move, and he’s not holding back.

In an exclusive and deeply personal interview with Australian Golf Digest for its November 2025 issue, Norman peeled back the curtain on what life was really like behind the scenes of LIV Golf. “I enjoyed my time at LIV. But I’ll be honest with you, it was hard,” Norman admitted. Although Norman created a legacy while he was there, his position was always surrounded by controversy, and, as he now reveals, it came at a cost far greater than most realized.

“It was very draining on me. I was working 100-hour weeks. I’m not going to say all the abuse was anything [of consequence], but what hurt me the most was the lack of understanding of why people would judge me and give the abuse they did. That was the thing that bothered me the most, because I’m the type of guy who will happily sit down and talk about things. And if I’m wrong, I’ll admit I’m wrong. But don’t judge me. Don’t judge what LIV was truly all about,” Norman added, on the personal toll LIV Golf took.

That stings. Especially from a man who was once golf’s golden boy, and turned lightning rod for one of the sport’s most controversial revolutions. Greg Norman has been accused of many things during his time with LIV—selling out and burning bridges in a sport he once helped build. But in his eyes, LIV wasn’t about politics — it was about pushing golf forward and cracking open a system that needed change. And while the backlash was fierce, from fans, media, and even former allies, Norman believes LIV’s entry into the golf world ultimately changed the game for the better.

Despite the personal toll he endured, the two-time major winner says he has no regrets. Speaking from the comfort of his new Florida office and surrounded by the empire that is The Greg Norman Company, Greg Norman insists that he’d “do it all again in a heartbeat.” And while some saw his social media sign-off in September as a PR stunt — considering he was effectively replaced by Scott O’Neil nearly nine months earlier — Norman insists he left on his own terms, with “nothing but gratitude, pride and achievement.”