'Greg Needs To Go' - McIlroy Calls For Norman To Quit As LIV CEO

Rory McIlroy has continued his war of words with Greg Norman, calling for the LIV Golf CEO to resign so the warring circuits can start to work together for the good of the game. 

McIlroy has been a staunch supporter of the PGA and DP World Tours and has been on a collision course with Norman, with the pair trading barbs as the fallout from the inception of the Saudi-funded series rumbles on. 

Last week, 67-year-old Norman appeared to aim a dig in the Northern Irishman's direction, using McIlroy's own words that LIV was "dead in the water" against him in a social media post. 

McIlroy has now hit back ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, saying Norman should quit so peace talks can begin with an "adult in the room".

"I think there's a few things that need to happen," he said. "So there's obviously two lawsuits going on at the minute - there's PGA Tour versus LIV and there's this one that's coming up with the DP World Tour in February. Nothing will happen if those two things are still going on.

"And then I think from whatever happens with those two things, there's a few things that I would like to see on the LIV side that needs to happen. I think Greg needs to go, to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to say you’ve got this thing off the ground, but no-one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.

"If those two things happen, then things can happen. But right now, it's a stalemate because there can't be any other way. Hopefully something can happen, who knows."

Norman's position is rumoured to be under threat ahead of the expanded 2023 LIV Golf League, with former TaylorMade CEO Mark King reportedly in talks to take the helm. The Australian has been able to assemble an impressive cast of star names in just one season as LIV's commissioner but has also sparked no shortage of controversy along the way.

He infamously brushed off the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by saying "we've all made mistakes" and has been combative in his quest for world ranking points, repeatedly criticising the Official World Golf Ranking body for failing to legitimise the fledgling series.

As well as McIlroy, Norman has also taken aim at Jay Monahan, while adding that PGA Tour players should be grateful to LIV Golf for acting as a catalyst for change, with the 2023 PGA Tour schedule littered with record prize purses and a host of "elevated events". McIlroy rebuffed that claim, insisting it's Tiger Woods who continues to drive the game forward.

He added: "As with anything that Greg says, and that comment, it depends what you're looking for out of golf. Am I thankful that it's provided more opportunities for the top players to earn more? Yes.

"But ultimately will that make me happier at the end of my career? No. There's a lot of things that people play golf for and do their jobs for, and it's not just about money. 

"I'm very thankful for everyone in golf, and I've said this a million times: Tiger is the reason that we are playing for as much as we are playing for. Tiger is the reason that stature of our game is where it is. 

"The generation of Tiger and the generation coming after Tiger have all benefited from him and his achievements and what he's done for the game of golf. I don't think Tiger should be thankful to anyone for anything. I think everyone else in the game should be thankful."