Greg Norman in September at LIV Golf’s event in Dallas.
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Greg Norman says he will be replaced as LIV Golf CEO, amidst reports that the three-season-old tour has found his replacement.
Speaking to Andrew Chernoff of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Norman said he was “fine” with moving on from the role that he’s held since LIV’s inception in 2022. His comment came in response to Chernoff asking if Norman had hoped to remain CEO, but Norman did not indicate when he would leave the position.
“I’ve seen it [LIV Golf] come from a business model on paper to giving birth on the golf course to where it is today,” Norman told Chernoff in a story published Friday to the station’s website. “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.”
Norman’s comment comes in response to reports that LIV will hire former Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Scott O’Neil as its new CEO. The Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter reported late last month, via sources, that the deal with the current CEO of London-based theme park company Merlin Entertainments was “not signed by on the 1-yard line.”
Norman talked to Chernoff while visiting Indianapolis in advance of LIV playing a tournament in the city next year. In the story published to the website, Norman also said he believed that the golf was “in a better place” than it was a year ago, citing the PGA Tour’s funding agreement with a group made up primarily of sports team owners.
“Competition was a great thing for them [the PGA Tour], too,” Norman said. “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?’”
LIV’s fourth season is expected to begin in early February in Saudi Arabia. The Indianapolis event is scheduled to be played in mid-August.
Editor’s note: To read the article from WISH-TV — which includes Norman comments about tournaments in the U.S., along with a video — please click here.
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