Five-time PGA Tour winner and renowned on-course reporter Roger Maltbie says it would be a “shock” if LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman comes calling as he looks set to pursue some new challenges next year.
The 71-year-old joined Gary McCord and Drew Stoltz on their SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show as he discussed his future. Maltbie’s contract at NBC was not renewed for 2023 and he leaves following a 30-year association, with the broadcaster eager to refresh its team for the future.
"There's hurt feelings and there's also a lot of gratitude."The golf world is still reacting to the news that Roger Maltbie's time with NBC Sports is ending. Maltbie himself reacts with Gary & Drew on McCord & Stoltz. Hear the full interview on the SXM App.@thesleezyman pic.twitter.com/BPQd78kdMiNovember 15, 2022
Touching on his dismissal, Maltbie said: "Does it hurt when you hear the words? Sure. ‘You’re not in our plans.’ Thirty-one years I spent with NBC. ‘You’re no longer in our plans and you’re not part of our future. We need to go young,’ which is a nice way of saying you’re old, and I understand all that.
"But you know, there’s hurt feelings and there’s also a lot of gratitude. They were great to me for 31 years. I don’t have a complaint."
Going forward, might Maltbie be tempted to join fellow broadcaster David Feherty at LIV Golf? The veteran on-course commentator refused to rule it out but admitted it's highly unlikely given his history with the breakaway circuit's CEO.
"I guess at this age, at 71, you never say never, but that would shock me beyond belief," he added. "Greg Norman and I had sort of a spat you might call it years back, and I doubt that I would get a call from LIV, let’s put it that way.
"This LIV thing, it’s kind of crazy. There’s so much hypocrisy involved in it. I don’t begrudge any player that accepted that money or decided to do that. That’s still a decision that is 1,000 per cent their right. I don’t like the idea that they think they could do that and play the PGA Tour. I don’t follow that, but I’m not upset with it.
"There are people that have this moral outrage about accepting money from the Saudi Investment Fund and it’s like, really? All the business that our government does with Saudi Arabia, and the largest corporations in America, so many of them do some business with the Saudis. Why all of a sudden are golfers the moral compass of the world? I don’t understand that. So I have no problem with those guys taking that money."
While a move to a reduced schedule isn’t something Maltbie is expecting anytime soon, with the current uncertainty ripping through the game, who knows what the future will hold for the long-time pundit.
Whatever happens, he will be missed by many, that’s for sure.
