Greg Norman spent four years as golf’s most polarizing figure, and LIV Golf’s uncertain future has done little to help his case. Now broadcaster Jimmy Roberts is making an unexpected argument for how Norman should ultimately be remembered. Speaking on the Five Clubs Golf podcast, Roberts was asked by Gary Williams how history would eventually remember Norman, given his fallout with the PGA Tour and the chaos LIV created.

“You know, I do think time will be kinder to him than it is now in the long term. Greg had a lot of feelings about it. First of all, he’s brash, and I think that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.”

“I think a combination of a couple of things has made him unpopular with a lot of people. I can only tell you that I spoke to him yesterday, and I’ve had a lot of dealings with him over the years. One of the things I appreciate as a journalist is that he’s incredibly candid,” he said on the show.

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Jimmy Roberts didn’t pretend Norman was easy to defend. He pointed to Norman’s brashness and his push to monetize his own brands as the reason the Australian had become polarizing long before LIV existed. He recalled a moment when Arnold Palmer flatly rejected Norman’s original World Golf Tour pitch at the Shark Shootout decades ago.

However, according to Roberts, LIV is only the last four years of a career spanning four decades. Norman has won 91 professional tournaments worldwide, including two Open championships, and spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one golfer. For Roberts, his fallout with the PGA Tour for LIV is a chapter that can eventually be outlasted given his legacy.

There’s a smaller sign that the shift could already be starting. Even after being replaced as a CEO in January 2025, Norman did not walk away bitter. He continued offering O’Neil pointed advice and softened his public tone towards the tour he once fought. He praised the new PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp’s approach, and insisted he remains “loyal to the PGA Tour” as a lifetime member. This comes as a surprise, but he has maintained his stance despite years of trading barbs.

That said, while Roberts has tried to highlight Norman in a bigger picture, it comes at a messy moment for the league Norman built. CEO Scott O’Neil announced this week that LIV has secured a new lead investor, with plans to make players majority equity holders in restructured “LIV 2.0.” And yet, the league hasn’t named who the investor is.

Moreover, the league is reportedly running on loans for the rest of 2026. To add to their troubles, they have sent termination notices to staff in the U.S. and UK ahead of layoffs expected in September.