Sources – Scott O’Neil will replace Greg Norman as commissioner CEO of LIV

LIV Golf is set to hire former NBA and NHL executive Scott O’Neil to replace Greg Norman as CEO and commissioner, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

If a deal is finalized with O’Neil, an announcement could come next week, sources said.

O’Neil has served as CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers since 2013 and later oversaw the NBA franchise and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils as CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

O’Neil was most recently CEO of London-based Merlin Entertainments, one of the world’s largest operators of theme parks and resorts. Merlin Entertainments announced on Wednesday that O’Neil has told the board that he will leave for “another opportunity” and step down as CEO at the end of the year.

Norman, 69, had previously said he expected to continue with LIV Golf in some capacity. He told Sports Illustrated that his contract with the circuit expires in August 2025.

A spokesperson for LIV Golf declined to comment when contacted by ESPN on Wednesday.

The Sports Business Journal first reported that LIV Golf was eyeing O’Neil for the position.

Norman, a two-time Open Championship winner, has helped reshape professional men’s golf by recruiting PGA Tour players to the club circuit, which has been financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund for the past three years.

Norman helped lure major leaguers Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and others to the new league with guaranteed contracts worth more than $100 million.

O’Neill also served as president of Madison Square Garden and as an NBA official.

The PGA Tour and PIF have been in talks for months about a deal that would see more than $1 billion flow from PIF to PGA Tour Enterprises, a new for-profit entity launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group.

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF signed a framework agreement on June 6, 2023, to form an alliance. That agreement expired on Jan. 1 but the parties continued to work towards a possible agreement.