Perhaps it’s too much to say that LIV Golf is enjoying a moment but, as the defiant league begins its fourth season, it appears to have found new footing as it charges into whatever the future holds.
The bitter feelings LIV Golf and its former leader Greg Norman engendered as it muscled its way into golf’s ecosystem have gradually dulled into, for many, a grudging acceptance of the game’s new-look landscape.
If and when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund finalizes an agreement with the PGA Tour, it’s likely to be more investment oriented than immediately reuniting. In other words, if you’re hoping for LIV Golf to disappear, don’t hold your breath.
That’s not to say there won’t be any cross-pollination between the PGA Tour and LIV players should a deal be struck, but LIV isn’t likely to go away.
LIV Golf has a new 28,000-square-foot office in New York’s trendy Hudson Yards neighborhood, Norman has been replaced by Scott O’Neil, who brings with him an extensive background in sports business, and there’s a television deal with Fox Sports that can only help broaden the league’s exposure, a place where LIV has failed to develop any real traction.
O’Neil’s arrival is a significant step in LIV’s development for two reasons: What he brings as a successful longtime executive in professional sports and because it means Norman has stepped aside.
Though he went about it with a machete, Norman gave LIV instant presence within the game. Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars the PIF has been willing to throw at LIV, it was never going to be an easy sell.
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