LIV Golf announcer David Feherty was feeling pretty bold, making a daring comparison between Greg Norman and Tiger Woods.
Greg Norman has become, in many ways, the face of LIV Golf. The upstart rival to the PGA Tour is led by Norman, who has been very outspoken about the prominence of the tour. He certainly has some basis of understanding global golf.
Few players in the history of the sport have seen the global success Norman has. However, LIV Golf announcer David Feherty might have finally taken that too far.
Feherty recently addressed Norman’s prowess within the sport.
“His fingerprints are all over this and always will be,” Feherty said. “People forget at times that before Tiger Woods, there was Greg Norman who brought that level of fitness.”
“The guy won more than 100 tournaments around the world. He was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods.”
Feherty has earned credibility when it comes to recognizing golfing talent. He played professionally, was a member of the 1991 European Ryder Cup squad, and won five times on the European Tour before eventually joining the PGA Tour late in his career.
His comments, at face value, are not entirely wrong. Norman was incredibly fit during his playing days. “The Shark,” as he was known, was one of the best players in the world for at least a decade. He won 20 times on the PGA Tour, 14 times on the European Tour, and 33 times on the PGA Tour Australasia.
He also won the Masters in 1986 and 1993. But that was the totality of his major victories, having come up short numerous times.
None more memorable than in 1996. Norman held a six-shot lead heading into Sunday at the Masters. Ultimately, Nick Faldo caught and passed him, leaving Norman runner-up in what is considered one of the largest collapses in the history of sport.
So, to say that he was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods is blasphemous. Tiger was known for the exact opposite. When he built a lead, he buried the field. Can you imagine Woods blowing a six-shot lead in any tournament, never mind at Augusta?
Feherty has always been outspoken as a media member. His awkward and interesting antics made for great television when he worked with the PGA Tour. However, he immediately defected upon the emergence of LIV Golf and some of his credibility has since gone with him.
