Bubba Watson gets frank with himself and makes feelings on LIV chief Greg Norman clear

Bubba Watson has admitted that his 2024 season playing under the LIV Golf banner was sub-par to say the least, while also showering the banner’s CEO, Greg Norman, with an abundance of praise.

Bubba Watson has rated his 2024 stint with LIV Golf as “probably an F” after finding himself five spots from the bottom of the standings.

The celebrated golfer, who made his mark on the PGA Tour as a rookie back in 2006 and has since notched up 12 wins as well as two Masters titles in 2012 and 2014, experienced quite the shift when he switched to the LIV Golf league in mid-2022. Unfortunately, his venture into new territory hasn’t exactly been plain sailing.

Named as a non-playing captain for the RangeGoats due to knee surgery, Watson’s time has been less than stellar, culminating in the 36th spot in the 2023 season rankings. And this year’s season proved even more disappointing for the American, who competed in 14 events but only managed a top finish of T15 in Las Vegas – rounding off the season ranked 53rd and facing relegation from the competition.

Speaking on his latest campaign during an interview with Golf By Tour Miss, Watson revealed: “It was a season that was tough for me as it was more of a learning experience in learning about being a team captaincy and while captaincy really doesn’t mean much but being an owner when you’re trying to make moves and talk to sponsors and also play golf and practice as they are the things you have to learn to deal with.

So, I’m still learning with having to deal with that. Some guys want to be hands on and I also want to be hands on. I want to be a part of everything going on as I want to help group the LIV Tour. Going forward I would back away as much as I could and leave this new role I have to my GM or someone,” reports the Irish Star.

Watson then went on to share his views on LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, commending him for his contributions to golf. He added: “Greg brought LIV Golf to the world and forget what he did that first day because as soon as we studied it and learnt what it was all about, as that’s when the sports world fell in love with it.

When I said the world, I was referring to the United States only as the rest of the world had fallen in love with it from onset. Overdelivering on what anyone ever expected of it and Greg Norman has been instrumental in formulating what LIV Golf is today and without Greg Norman and his connections LIV Golf does not have the current boost that it possess at the moment.

It arrived as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) is reported to be working on the option of hiring Philadelphia 76ers’ superior Scott O’Neil for the Norman ouster. While it has been Norman who has spearheaded the process of raising LIV’s profile since 2021, it appears that he might be somewhat sidelined in the current negotiations between LIV and PGA officials.

Norman has said before that his contract will end in August, 2025, and he reiterated his commitment to the league from inception to date. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said: There has been no doubt about my commitment to LIV and there will be no doubt about my commitment in the future.

“Time will tell. May we change my position? My place and my task is to execute 2025 and make sure we get our timetable set and all what needs to be done. The only thing that you will get from me is LIV and we are already going forward regardless [of a deal]. Would it make things easier? Yes, it would. Whether it’s a year or now.”