- Greg Norman has led the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour since it’s inception in 2021
- Former World No 1 has been one of the most divisive figure’s in golf’s civil war
- The Great White Shark confirmed that he is to be replaced as CEO of the tour
Greg Norman has confirmed he is to be replaced as LIV Golf CEO, saying he is ‘fine with it’.
Amid reports that his successor has been found, Norman was asked in an interview with Indiana news TV station WISH-TV if he had hoped to stay on in the role he’s held since the breakaway Saudi-funded circuit’s inception.
‘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 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.
‘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.’
LIV Golf chief executive officer Greg Norman (pictured) has revealed that the controversial league will soon have a new leader
Former World No 1 has been one of the most divisive figure’s in golf’s civil war
It has been reported in recent days that LIV Golf is expected to hire former NBA and NHL executive Scott O’Neil to replace Norman, who was sometimes viewed as a divisive figure during the bitter battle with the PGA Tour.
But the 69-year-old Australian former world No.1 was adamant all – including the game – have benefited from the arrival of the three-season-old LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have been attempting to negotiate a deal since announcing a surprise ‘framework agreement’ was announced in June 2023.
Tiger Woods, a PGA Tour policy board member, expressed his frustration over talks this week, saying: ‘I think all of us who have been a part of this process would have thought it would have happened quicker than this.
‘But we wish we would have had something more concrete and further along than we are right now.
‘I think something will get done. In what form or shape, I don’t know yet.’
Norman says he will continue to be involved with the breakaway tour
Norman said he believed that the golf was already ‘in a better place’ than it was a year ago, pointing to the PGA Tour’s funding agreement with a group made up mostly of sports team owners.
‘Competition was a great thing for them (the PGA Tour), too,’ Norman said in his WISH-TV interview. ‘Now they got an injection from SSG (Strategic Sports Group) of $US1.5 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?”
