Greg Norman’s tenure as the CEO of LIV Golf has been a tumultuous one as the 20-time PGA Tour winner and former world No. 1 has butted heads with numerous organizations, made outlandish claims about the league’s ascension and even had him showing up at major events with tickets from a secondary market.
But according to a new report from Sports Business Journal, the Saudi-based league is working behind the scenes to find a replacement for Norman as CEO, even though the two-time British Open champ could be retained in senior leadership.
Here’s more from the story:
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV financially, has contracted out London-based Odgers Berndtson for the search, which would take over for Greg Norman in the CEO role.
Though handled quietly, the search firm has looked to well-regarded executives in sports business for the position, with names including Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark among those targeted early on, according to sources. Talks with Yormark did not progress, but it shows the level of executive PIF has been targeting.
This is not the first sports job PIF has contracted Odgers Berndtson for. PIF also used the firm when it hired Paul Mitchell as the new sporting director for Newcastle United in July.
While Odgers Berndtson has been handling the search for PIF, LIV itself has been using CAA Sports and Egon Zehnder on other leadership searches.
According to SBJ, Norman has remained in decent favor with the ownership group, so he could still be used in a multitude of roles in the future.
This comes just two weeks ago after the league hired Ilana Finley of Nike as its new chief communications officer. Finley had most recently worked with Converse (part of the Nike brand), but also had led strategic communications for Nike’s Olympics initiatives.
At the recent Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, LIV Golf’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour Chief Executive Officer Guy Kinnings all took part in the DP World Tour event contested over three of the most famous venues in golf: St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
