As the third full LIV Golf season approaches, it’s likely that much of the attention will focus again on what happens away from the golf course.
After a turbulent tenure as CEO and commissioner of the revolutionary league, Greg Norman is expected to be replaced at some point this year by Scott O’Neil, a former NBA and NHL executive.
The move, which has not been officially announced but was reported by multiple media outlets late last year, comes as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund continues to negotiate with the PGA Tour about a potential investment, raising hopes of a possible resolution to the fracture within the men’s professional game.
While the negotiations drag on, LIV Golf is expected to have a new leader, though Norman is likely to remain involved.
In an interview with WISH-TV in Indianapolis last year to promote LIV’s first event in the area this year, Norman acknowledged his role will change. His contract is set to expire in August.
“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. “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.”
O’Neil stepped down as CEO of Merlin Entertainments, which operates amusement parks and resorts around the world. Previously, O’Neil served as CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
“The United States has been a tough market to penetrate for the last three years because we have had a lot of headwinds. We want to coexist within the golf ecosystem, which we are showing everybody.”
Greg Norman
Among the challenges O’Neil will face is generating more interest among American golf fans in the league, which has struggled to find traction here. The final round of LIV’s team championship event in Dallas drew just 89,000 viewers and LIV tournaments have pulled in just a fraction of the viewers the PGA Tour does on a weekly basis, though the PGA Tour’s ratings slumped in 2024.
“The United States has been a tough market to penetrate for the last three years because we have had a lot of headwinds,” Norman said in the television interview. “We want to coexist within the golf ecosystem, which we are showing everybody.”
A year ago, LIV Golf rattled the golf landscape by luring Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour, adding his name to a list of stars that includes Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith.
Rahm won two individual titles, closing the season by finishing 1-2-1, but his presence didn’t super-charge the league the way some thought it might. He finished first in the league’s individual points standings, followed by Joaquin Niemann and Sergio García.
LIV’s biggest on-course moment in 2024 came when DeChambeau outdueled Rory McIlroy to win the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
DeChambeau, Rahm, Koepka (who had two LIV wins last year) and Smith return in 2025, with Smith’s all-Australian Ripper GC having won the team championship last year.
While Bubba Watson and Branden Grace were among the players who lost their eligibility as a result of lackluster performance last year, they weren’t the only prominent stars to struggle.
After winning in February, Dustin Johnson managed just one more top-10 finish and closed the year by finishing T50, T17, T20, T33 and T34, raising questions about the 40-year-old’s commitment.
Phil Mickelson, now 54 years old, openly questioned if he can remain competitive going forward after finishing 46th in points with only one top-20 finish.
As for Anthony Kim, who returned to competitive golf last spring after a long and sometimes mysterious absence, he failed to finish inside the top 35 in any of his 11 LIV starts as a wild card. Kim is still expected to return in 2025 as a member of a team, but nothing has been officially announced.
The LIV season begins Feb. 6-8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, followed a week later by a trip to Adelaide, Australia, for what has been the league’s most successful event.
The first announced U.S. event is June 27-29 in Dallas but more events are expected to be announced shortly.