Greg Norman, pictured, is staying out of the spotlight, but his son recently made waves with social media comments. Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports

Is Greg Norman Jr. right to slam Open Championship TV ratings?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 7/26/23

Greg Norman may be staying away from the spotlight lately, but a member of his family is having no problem grabbing it and using his platform to bash the low ratings of the Open Championship.

Greg Norman Jr., business owner and son of the Shark, took to social media over the weekend after it was reported the ratings for the final round of this year's Open were down 26% from last year. Norman called the lowered ratings "horrific" and accused the entire sports broadcasting bubble of being outdated.

Sure, it would be easy to ignore his post based on how you feel about him or his father or their association with LIV Golf. But at a time when the sport is in such turmoil, is he right?

Horrific. Golf needs to be actively working together across the board to generate engagement to our beloved sport.

But sadly this is par for the course, all sports broadcast through traditional media is in a death spiral.

Old guard does not understand the new generation https://t.co/U38ezl1lK3
— Greg Norman Jr (@GregJrNorman) July 25, 2023

There are two sides to this argument. On the one hand, Norman is correct in pointing out that golf needs to find better ways of engaging with its audience. Maybe it was a lack of drama in the final round — Brian Harman arguably had the Claret Jug won before he teed off on Sunday. Or maybe it's the fact that fans are so tired of all the infighting in the sport that they need a breather. However you put it together, the way professional golf reaches its audiences could probably use a makeover.

That being said, blaming everything on the broadcasting is a bit much — although, not that surprising. Norman bashing "traditional media" is an old adage that many affiliated with, or simply fans of, LIV Golf have taken. And it's especially interesting that he pointed to the Open's low ratings when LIV's early ratings were so bad the rogue league has stopped releasing those numbers altogether.

At the end of the day, professional golf does in fact need to make some changes in order to keep fans engaged. Greg Norman Jr. probably isn't the best spokesperson for change in that department, but perhaps his comments can get the conversation started.

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