Greg Norman says he would have beat Tiger Woods. He didn’t clarify where he would have beat him, such as in a regular tournament, a major or some other setting, but he has expressed his opinion, and it’s that he has the goods that would have made him a worthy opponent if he played in Woods’ time.
Norman gave a wide range of insight for a recent Golf.com interview, talking about everything from his approach as a golfer to his current family life. He made it clear what he thought was the source of his success — and why that would give him an edge with Woods.
“A lot of people ask how I’d stack up against today’s players if I had use of modern equipment,” he said in the interview. “Listen, it’s not about the gear. Winning is about what’s in your heart and in your head. Equipment dictates how to play the game in an era, but the physical and mental skills are the same. And I had them. I never feared anything or anyone on the course, and I wasn’t afraid to fail. So I think I’d do pretty well against [Sam] Snead, [Ben] Hogan, Tiger and Phil [Mickelson] — whoever. Tiger’s a tough guy, but I was a tough guy on the course, too. I probably would have beat him.”
Norman also lent some insight on the problems that have afflicted Rory McIlroy this year, and he again wasn’t pointing to the equipment.
“It’s absurd to say he has gear issues,” Norman said. “It’s so easy to re-create the same specs and feel from one set to the next. Something else is going on [with him].”
Norman won 20 events on the PGA Tour and 85 international tournaments altogether during his time as a professional, including two U.S. Open championships. He was most famous for heartbreaking finishes on the biggest stages, though, which makes his comments … well, kind of strange.
Photo via Twitter/@golfdare_com
