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Rory McIlroy’s cheeky dig at Greg Norman following his successful Canadian Open title defence didn’t go unnoticed – but not everybody saw the funny side.
The four-time major champion closed with an eight-under 62 to retain his title at St George’s Golf & Country Club in Ontario last night.
It was the 21st PGA Tour victory of the Northern Irishman’s career – one more than Aussie icon Greg Norman managed in his playing days.
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With Norman now at the helm of the controversial new LIV Golf Series, which staged its first event near London last week, McIlroy – one of the start-up’s most vocal opponents on tour – couldn’t resist putting the boot in when he spoke to reporter Amanda Balionis.
“This is a day I’ll remember for a long, long time,” said McIlroy in his live television interview. “My 21st PGA Tour win. One more than someone else. That gave me a bit of extra incentive today. I’m happy to get it done.”
The dig immediately went viral on social media and, whilst Norman hasn’t responded, one of his fellow countrymen has.
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Scott Hend, three times a winner on the DP World Tour, was asked for his thoughts on McIlroy’s pot-shot by a Twitter user – and he didn’t hold back.
“I thought he would be above that kind of petty rubbish,” said the 48-year-old.
Challenged over that tweet by former BMW PGA champion Byeong Hun An, Hend added: “Rory is making a shit Ton of money from sponsorship being on the PGA Tour… He is the Tour Poster boy.”
Hend also told another follower that he believes the LIV Golf Series has a big part to play in golf’s future.
“It’s not going away,” he added. “What it turns into remains to be seen.“
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