Rory McIlroy said Greg Norman’s departure as CEO of LIV Golf is “probably a good move” and admitted the Saudi-backed league is not going away “any time soon.”
LIV is moving forward with sports magnate Scott O’Neil as its CEO, effectively ending the simmering war of words between Norman — who helped get the league off the ground — and McIlroy.
McIlroy, one of LIV’s most outspoken critics in the early days, praised O’Neil’s drive.
“[O’Neil] he has an amazing record of what he has done in sports in terms of managing teams and teams of teams, ownership teams, “said McIlroy at the Dubai Desert Classic. “He has the right credentials to take over the sports league. I think for LIV it’s probably a good move now that they’re established.”
O’Neil has served as CEO of the parent company of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, president of Madison Square Garden and CEO of amusement park and leisure company Merlin Entertainments Group.
He was officially confirmed as the new CEO on Wednesday, and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in a statement that O’Neil “has the passion, tenacity and vision to continue to support LIV Golf’s position as the world’s leading sports and entertainment company and to lead teams and players.” our wonderful people in the years to come.”
Norman, the 1986 and 1983 Open champion who will continue with the league in a mysterious role, often appears in isolation when LIV takes to the golf course. He called McIlroy “brainwashed by the PGA Tour” in 2022, putting Norman at the four-time major.
McIlroy blamed him in part for golf’s “civil war”, saying later that year he should “step off stage left” to allow “the elders” to resolve the sport’s divisions.
The Northern Irishman commented on Norman in a very quiet way in Dubai.
“Greg made a big mistake in the first couple of years,” McIlroy said. “He’s probably one of the guys in golf who could have taken that role. He pulled it off the ground, and you have to give him credit for that. Now it’s time for someone with more experience to take over.
“Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds for us [LIV]but the moves they’re making, especially from the perspective of officials, don’t look like they’re going to go away anytime soon.”
Although ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf on their “framework agreement” have made little progress, there is less animosity between the parties in 2025 than when LIV began.
McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler defeated LIV members Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in an exhibition match in December, the first such exhibition to feature stars from the sport’s two main divisions.
McIlroy said O’Neil attended that game and the first night of TGL — the new simulation golf series co-founded by McIlroy and Tiger Woods — earlier this month.
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