Greg Norman has spoken out about his axing as International team captain for the Presidents Cup with sponsor conflicts a mooted factor.

Norman captained the Internationals to losses against Fred Couples’ American side in 2009 (San Francisco) and 2011 (Melbourne) and was expecting to square off again this week at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.

But he was shown the door in favour of Zimbabwe’s Nick Price, who will lead the underdogs as they look to win the cup on American soil for the first time.

Speaking to Foxsports.com in America, Norman explained how he was blindsided by the axing.

“Freddie (Couples) came to me right after the Presidents Cup in Australia and said, ‘I’ll do it again if you do it again’. I said, ‘OK, I’m in,'” Norman said.

“So, yeah, it came as a big surprise to me to get a phone call at late stages out of the blue from (PGA Tour commissioner) Tim (Finchem).

“Let’s just say it’s disappointing. Extremely disappointing.”

Norman has long had a frosty relationship with Finchem and one of the rumoured issues was the Shark’s decision to change from Rolex to Omega for his watch sponsor.

“I know that Rolex is a corporate partner of the PGA Tour and there’s been some speculation I’ve heard that that was the reason why,” Norman said.

“If that’s right, then all I can say is that it’s really pathetic.”

The 58-year-old two-time major winner was also distressed captain Price and his team of Shigeki Maruyama, Mark McNulty and Tony Johnstone hadn’t reached out for advice as they look to thwart the US stranglehold on the event.

“The other sad part about it is that nobody has reached out to me or any of my past team (Frank Nobilo and Tim Clark) and asked us what we thought would be good changes to make, or ideas we might have had about the Presidents Cup,” he added.

“We were just completely cut off.

“Not one of the team I had is on the International team for this year. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense because there is experience there.

“I know other people want a shot at it, but why wouldn’t you want to hear the opinions of those who came before you?”

Price, however, claimed he had spent a lot of time talking with Clark, who was somewhat controversially overlooked as a captains pick in favour of Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge and Australia’s Marc Leishman.

“I confided an awful lot in Tim Clark over the last year and a half, actually, because he had been on both sides and for his insight and his knowledge of the Presidents Cup,” Price said from Muirfield Village.

“It was probably the hardest phone call I’ve ever had to make (to tell him he wasn’t being picked) because I was convinced that he was going to make the team.”

Norman was invited to attend the tournament but has turned it down.

“My role is done with the Presidents Cup,” he said.

“That’s been made clear.

“Is it sad? Well, yes, I suppose because I wanted to win it for the boys, or I should say I wanted them to win it for themselves, but there’s no regrets.

“I know I gave it my best shot.”