Greg Norman took to Twitter on Thursday morning to wish Trevor Immelman and his International squad good luck in the first day of the Presidents Cup.
Immelman wasn’t having it.
“Outside of all this angst — golf is golf, competition is competition; something every golfer thrives on,” Norman wrote. “As a former player & Captain of the International Team, I wish @TrevorImmelman & his entire team the very best in repeating our only 1998 @PresidentsCup success in Melbourne.”
Immelman didn’t respond until Friday morning (he was a little busy during Day 1 of the Presidents Cup on Thursday), but he got back to Norman on Friday before the fourballs session kicked off. He used just three letters: “LOL.”
Immelman’s response received over 300 retweets and 3,000 likes in the first two hours after it was posted.
Now, this is where we define the gray area in Norman’s tweet and Immelman’s response. Those who are LIV Golf supporters might say good for Norman for wishing a team he once played on and captained good luck.
Those who aren’t in favor of LIV Golf, however, might find it off-putting that Norman inserted himself into the event — he also made sure to mention he was a part of the Internationals’ “only” victory — especially since the new rival league in which he runs has taken four of the International team’s top players after the PGA Tour ruled LIV golfers would not be allowed to compete in the Presidents Cup. LIV players Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen would have all made the team, and Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel would have all been in the mix as potential captain’s picks. That’s a lot of players.
Instead of having an experienced roster, Immelman put together a team that consisted of a record eight rookies.
Immelman’s terse response to Norman showed what camp he’s in.
“The 12 that are here are the 12 that wanted to be here,” Immelman said on Tuesday, “and those are the 12 that I want to fight with.”