Firebrand LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, who was central in the creation of the upstart Saudi-financed golf league and pro golf’s civil war over the past two years, will soon be replaced as the chief executive of the tour he helped found, according to multiple reports.
Sports Business Journal first reported that LIV Golf was expected to hire former Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Scott O’Neil for the position. Multiple outlets have since confirmed the news.
While Norman is expected to remain with LIV Golf in a senior position, the news still represents a hugely consequential development in pro golf’s feud.
Rory McIlroy details beginning of Greg Norman feud
When LIV Golf was first announced back in 2021, Norman was named as its first CEO. The league quickly faced huge backlash from the PGA Tour, its players, some fans and media outlets.
In face of the opposition, Norman adopted an aggressive position vocally backing the league and feuding with the Tour and Tour players opposed to LIV in public, at times calling the PGA Tour an “illegal monopoly.”
Norman’s battle of words with PGA Tour stalwart Rory McIlroy was one of the most notable over the past two years. Both golf legends traded barbs in the press, sometimes becoming personal.
In November 2022, McIlroy was asked what would need to happen to end pro golf’s feud and brings the two sides together, the four-time major champion called for Norman’s removal as LIV’s CEO.
“I think Greg [Norman] needs to go. I think he just needs to exit stage left,” McIlroy said. “He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to sort of say, look, you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.”
In June 2023, the Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was announced, beginning something of a ceasefire. But the negotiations for a final agreement have dragged on.
O’Neil has been CEO of London-based theme park company Merlin Entertainments since 2022. O’Neil could be named LIV CEO as early as next week, and sources told Sports Business Journal that the deal is “not signed but on the 1 yard line.”
With no final deal in place, LIV Golf is scheduled to begin its 2025 season in Saudi Arabia in February.
