BREAKING: Golf world rattled as Golf titan Jack Nicklaus, visibly shaken, delivers a spine-bombshell announcement that will echo through the ages. Dive into the full details below đ
Tiger Woodsâ first agent, Hughes Norton, has opened up on his relationship with the 15-time major winner, who he has not spoken to since being sacked by the golf legend
Tiger Woodsâ first agent, Hughes Norton, has opened up about the âworst partâ of his relationship with the golfing legend.
Despite not having spoken to the 15-time major winner since being let go by him, Hughes had some critical words about Woodsâ social skills.
Hughes represented Woods for two years starting in the summer of 1996, when the golfer was just 20 and turning professional. He first met Woods and his father Earl seven years prior, when he hired Earl at IMG as a junior talent scout.
The super-agent has worked with a list of golfing greats, including LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, whom he represented for 11 years. Hughes secured record-setting sponsorship deals for Woods at the start of their partnership but never worked again after being fired, which soon led to IMG following suit.
Woods remained with the sports agency and started being represented by Mark Steinberg, who is still his agent.
Hughes, on the other hand, was bound to silence for ten years as part of his substantial payoff and was prohibited from competing against the company. He never returned to that line of work but has now shared his experiences in his recently published memoir âRainmaker â.
Hughes does not mince words when recalling his split with Woods.
âThe worst part honestly was that there was no explanation,â Norton revealed in an interview with to Todayâs Golfer. âItâs just so bizarre the way Tiger severs relationships with people in his life, whether itâs caddies or girlfriends or managers. I would love to sit down with Tiger today and say, âFlashback 25 years, what was the reason?
ââYou never gave me any indication that something was wrong or that you werenât happyâ. That leads into my feelings of betrayal because it was very tough to swallow,â before later commenting: âHe was pretty disloyal to say, âSee you laterâ, after such a short time.
Hughes added: âTiger was unbelievably self-centred. He focused on one thing and one thing only from an early age, which was to become the greatest golfer in the history of the game. He was quite selfish; his needs were all that mattered.
âHe never really learned how to interact with people, so there was a total lack of empathy. â
The former agent acknowledged that when recalling how an âemotionless Tiger stood zombie-likeâ when delivering the news, which was the last time they interacted.
Hughes also believes Woods going from an amateur to Masters champion to world No. 1 within 12 months left him uneasy. âFame was something that was uncomfortable for Tiger,â he recalled. âIt really was. It was an intrusion into his life.
Hughes recalled a moment that highlighted this perspective: âAt one point he said, âYou know thereâs this $40 million from Nike, $20 million from Titleist, itâs paper money, Hughesâ.
âHe picked up a winnerâs cheque from a tournament heâd just won and said, âSee this, this $300,000 I won in Las Vegas, thatâs real to me. This other stuff is paper money. Itâs an interesting outlook but it showed you how narrow-focused he was.â