Norman stands by intimidation comments

Shark attack: Greg Norman says that he stands by his comments about Tiger and Rory

Australian ace defends himself after criticism of his Tiger and Rory remarks

Greg Norman has taken to Facebook to publish a staunch defence of the comments he made last week about Tiger Woods being intimidated by Rory McIlroy.

The two-time major winner made the observation in an interview with Fox Sports after McIlroy held off Woods to win his second consecutive PGA Tour title at the BMW Championship. However, he was quickly condemned for the remarks, with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Woods’ basketball star friend Charles Barkley rounding on him.

Woods and McIlroy themselves refused to take Norman’s comments too seriously, with the former jokingly nicknaming the latter ‘The Intimidator’ in the ensuing furore.

Even so, Australian ace Norman insisted that he stands by what he said with a lengthy status update on his personal Facebook page.

He wrote: “Got off the plane from Beijing this morning and my iPhone just blew up with emails and voicemails regarding my interview with Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports. It seems that everyone from Charles Barkley (no Charles I was not referencing or comparing Tiger’s record to mine) to John Doe has weighed in on my quote regarding intimidation.

“I stand by my comments and for those that choose to read the full article and not just ‘grasp’ and ‘react’ to one word will notice that the headline and byline were inconsistent with the content of what Robert wrote. When you look at my comments in the full context of the article, you will see that it provides a more balanced view of my sentiments on this topic. Which is, since the PGA Championship Tiger has not made any impact on the weekend in passing Rory for the title. This has not happened in his career prior to this run by Rory.

“During the PGA Championship broadcast I spoke at length about Tiger and I maintain that no one has swung the club better in the history of the game, especially during the year 2000. At the end of the day, Tiger is a great athlete and a great student of the game and he will continue to win, but we are seeing a transition away from his dominance. Rivalry and parity is great for the game of golf.”

He then added: “Unfortunately for Rory, I think that the trademark for ‘The Intimidator’ is already registered with Dale Earnhardt.”

For those of you confused by this reference, Dale Earnhardt was a hugely successful NASCAR driver who was nicknamed ‘The Intimidator’ for his aggressive style of racing.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered