Greg Norman was relevant as a golfer when Bill Clinton was in office and we are talking first term Bill Clinton. We have not heard a lot from him in quite awhile and if you are in his radar you probably wish he would crawl back in his gopher hole and let Bill Murray find him. Not only does he think Tiger will no longer win a major (many people think he won't). Norman said in an interview with Golf Magazine (November, 2011) that "he (Tiger) has a hard time being a person. Happiness can only come from within and he's the only one who can find that path to happiness." Norman continues on that everyone needs a mentor and that Norman confides in his business partner Bart Collins.
What Norman said about Tiger's swing is nothing new as many people have taken legitimate shots at him.
"I just don't think he's swinging the golf club the way he used to when he won all those major championships," Norman said. "He's a different player out there nowadays. He even looks tied up. He looks more confined. I know what it takes to have freedom in a golf swing and I just don't think he's technically in the right position to do what he used to do."
Norman points out that Woods is a smart guy but that Tiger's not very street smart. "Because he's been cocooned for his whole life. Ou can be a Harvard graduate, MIT, Yale, Stanford but if you don't understand what the street is all about-- most of the great CEO's and leaders of the world are street smart," said Norman. " They get the temperature , they understand the heartbeat, and having your backup, smart people behind you is the way to go."
Tiger is not the only guy he jabbed at. Both Norman na Lorena Ochoa
a are in competition with Jack Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam who want to earn the contract to build a couse for Rio De Janeiro for the 2016 summer games. He believes that he and Ochoa are a better tandem and the answer he gives on why he should be given the contract may surprise some. "They're iconic in their own rights, but Lorena and I are young enough where we can actually--we want to carry that baton and rally push forward. That's a platform that I've been very open about. You have to have the credibility in order to do it, number one, but you also need to have the responsibility that comes with it." What did Norman mean when he said that? I'm sure Jack Nicklaus might like to know.
But it is what Norman said about Tiger that has a ring of truth but why say it? "I can understand the name of a Tiger Woods and his history of what he's done on the golf course," Norman said. "But I pick the guys who I think are ready to get in there and play and have performed to the highest levels leading up to it."
Couples is not known for bumping his gums but did have a rebuttal.
"I have no problem with Greg. He can say whatever he wants, but I'm not really into that. I play golf with my clubs," Couples said after his seven-shot win. "Robert Allenby is his pick, and Aaron Baddeley, and they're Australians and I think they're great picks. But I think I can sit here and say Robert Allenby hasn't won a tournament in 10 years."Allenby's last PGA Tour win was 10 years ago in the Pennsylvania Classic, although he has seven wins since then, including Australian's Triple Crown – The Masters, PGA and Open – in 2005.
It is quite obvious Norman does not watch ESPN all that much as NFL pundit and former Coach Herm Edwards says "you play to win the game." Norman should hope that Tiger makes the team because their might be wiser choices for Couples to pick right now.
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