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SYDNEY - Greg Norman's $340 million divorce battle in the United States with his wife of 25 years is getting uglier.
Norman's lawyers have filed a new petition in a Florida court downplaying the influence Laura Norman had on her husband's prolific golf career, according to Florida's Vero Beach Press-Journal newspaper.
Norman, known as the Great White Shark, wants a greater share than his wife of the estimated A$300 million fortune accumulated during their marriage.
"The wife did not teach the husband to swing a golf club," the petition from Norman's lawyers states. "The wife did not teach the husband to win. All of those teachings were the product of diligent hard work by the husband prior to this marriage."
Norman's lawyers have described his wife's court action as "emotional litigiousness" and asked the court to hold her responsible for any money he lost while battling her in court.
Norman, the world's former No 1 golfer and British Open champion, pulled out of this week's Senior PGA championship in South Carolina, citing personal reasons.
The petition also claims Norman's contribution to raising the couple's children, Morgan-Leigh, 24, and Gregory, 20, "far exceeded the contributions of the wife".
Norman is seeking an "unequal but equitable distribution of the assets and liabilities of the marriage with the understanding and belief that the moneys the wife will receive will exceed her needs many-fold".
Norman has been romantically linked to former US tennis champion and glamour girl Chris Evert, who ended her 18-year marriage to professional skier Andy Mills late last year.
Norman, 52, and his wife, 57, own a mansion in Florida's Hobe Sound worth about US$30 million ($41 million).
- AAP
