Greg Norman has acknowledged that he will be replaced as CEO of LIV Golf, but expects to remain in some capacity with the golf tour that will begin its fourth season in February.
Norman, 69, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame who was named CEO and commissioner in November 2021, told Sports Illustrated in October that his contract expires in August 2025.
In an interview with WISH-TV in Indianapolis, where LIV Golf will play an event next year, Norman said he will be replaced but did not give a date.
“I’ve seen [LIV Golf] come from a business model on paper to giving birth on the golf course to where it is today,” Norman said. “So, I will always be… Is there going to be a new CEO? Yes. There will be a new CEO. I’m fine with that.
“Will I always have a place and be involved with LIV to some capacity? Yes. I’ll always have that. Because the impact that has been created in the game of golf by LIV, I’ve had a small, small piece of that, which I’m proud of.”
Scott O’Neil, a former NBA and NHL executive and CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, has reportedly been tapped to take over sometime in 2025. LIV Golf has not commented on the reports.
“The game is in a much better place today than it was a year ago”, Norman said.
“Competition was a great thing for [the PGA Tour] too. Now they got an injection from SSG [Strategic Sports Group] of $1.5 billion. Great for the PGA Tour, wonderful.
“So everywhere you look—in the first couple years, everybody was lambasting us. And now all of a sudden, everybody’s trying to follow us. And I think everybody should take a step back and say, ‘Oh my gosh. How good has this been for the game of golf?’
“The United States has been a tough market to penetrate for the last three years because we have had a lot of head winds. But, now, people are understanding the product that we are in the rightful place. We want to co-exist within the golf ecosystem, which we are showing everybody.”
There still remains plenty of tension between the various factions. The PGA Tour prohibits LIV golfers from competing in its events, and those who have played for LIV face a minimum one-year ban.
While LIV’s backer, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, continues to negotiate with the PGA Tour about an alliance that has been in the works for 18 months, nothing concrete has emerged. For now, some of the best players in the game will play in the same events only at the major championships.
Tiger Woods, a member of the PGA Tour policy board, noted the drawn out negotiations earlier this week.
“I think something will get done,” Woods said. “In what form or shape, I don’t know yet.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Greg Norman Exiting Role As LIV Golf CEO Amid Uncertain Future.
