Masters champion attacked by old rival after | Golf News

Greg Norman has taken purpose at three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, branding him a “loner” who spouts “interestingly stupid” remarks.

The Australian unleashed a gorgeous broadside against the 68 12 months old just days before the first major of the golf calendar. This follows Norman’s claims that he had been snubbed by Augusta National this 12 months, and a separate interview in which he revealed he will not be tuning in to watch the Masters.

Faldo defeated Norman at the 1996 Masters 30 years in the past, despite The Shark holding a six-shot lead heading into the ultimate day. The Englishman embraced Norman following his dramatic collapse, a second widely regarded as an iconic show of sportsmanship.

Norman, however, sees it in another way. The 71-year-old believes there’s another aspect to Faldo fully, and three a long time later, he seems decided to set the file straight.

“What I got in those moments was a very narrow window into the other side of Nick Faldo,” Norman told The Telegraph. “There is something about Nick. It’s in him. There’s the public side of Nick.”

“You know, he was the one who came up to me, he’s the one who hugged me. He’s the one who said, ‘don’t let those b——s get to you’.

“But it did not actually imply a lot to me, because I knew he’d soon go back to being the best way he was before. We never had any kind of relationship. We had been chalk and cheese. He was a loner, I could not be like him.”

Norman’s grievances didn’t end there. The former LIV Golf CEO is particularly rankled by comments Faldo made about him in connection with the Saudi-backed tour.

“Nick said some issues about me during my time at LIV, some actually nasty issues,” he said. “I haven’t got any respect for somebody who offers their opinion on one thing in that kind of method when they do not know both sides.

“Come on, we have a history, he could have called me and asked for the other side of the story and I’d have gladly given it. And if he still hadn’t agreed then fine – his opinion and as he knows the facts, he would have been entitled to say anything he likes.

“Happy days. But just to hold forth? Like I said, no respect for him. He still comes out with stuff that’s curiously silly, to be trustworthy with you.”

The 1996 collapse wasn’t Norman’s only agonizing second at Augusta. A decade earlier, he bogeyed the 18th gap, handing Jack Nicklaus the victory.

Norman was succeeded by Scott O’Neill in January, with LIV Golf subsequently reaching an settlement with the OWGR concerning rating factors. As for Norman, he now serves on the committee for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.