LIV Golf is replacing CEO and commissioner Greg Norman with former NHL and NBA executive Scott O’Neil, ESPN reported Wednesday.
A spokesman for LIV Golf declined ESPN’s request for comment.
Norman, 69, told Sports Illustrated last month that his contract was scheduled to end in August 2025. He helped to launch the breakaway golf circuit, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), in October 2021.
Under Norman’s watch, LIV Golf completed its third season in 2024. Massive prize pools and nine-figure contracts have lured superstars like Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith away from the PGA Tour.
O’Neil most recently served as CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group, which operates amusement parks and resorts. Merlin announced Wednesday that O’Neil is leaving for “another opportunity.”
O’Neil became CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013. As CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, he oversaw the Sixers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He also served as president of Madison Square Garden and worked for the NBA.
O’Neil comes aboard amid ongoing negotiations for an alliance between LIV Golf, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (European tour).
Sports Business Journal also reported that LIV Golf was pursuing O’Neil to replace Norman.
Norman won The Open Championship in 1986 and 1993 and was a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour. The Australia native was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
–Field Level Media
