LIV boss Greg Norman tells staff it’s going ahead despite the great merger with the PGA – after being kept in the dark about the end of the Gulf War that reportedly cost him his job
Greg Norman praised LIV Golf for “changing history,” but did not clarify his immediate future after the amazing merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed circuit.
In a shocking move, the PGA and European Tours signed an agreement Tuesday morning with LIV Golf to merge their businesses into a new company.
The surprise announcement came less than a year after PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan insisted such a regulation was “off the table.”
Significantly, however, Norman was not mentioned in the joint statements from the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The Australian has been CEO of LIV Golf since the start of the controversial operation in 2021, but he was not listed as the first member of the new board to be set up for the united front.
Greg Norman’s future as CEO of LIV Golf is under a cloud following the merger with the PGA Tour
The lack of any official recognition for Normal led to speculation that the 68-year-old could be kicked out of the newly formed company.
But the two-time big winner insisted that was not the case.
“The tap is now wide open for commercial sponsorship, blue-chip companies, TV networks,” he said on a LIV Gulf conference call Wednesday, according to Sports illustrated.
‘LIV is and will remain an independent company. Our business model will not change.
“We’ve changed history and we’re not going anywhere.”
On Tuesday, Norman celebrated the merger by tweeting, “A great day in global golf for players and fans alike. The journey continues!!’
Mail Sport previously reported that sources have insisted for months that LIV’s CEO was marginalized by the breakout circuit, having achieved his original goal of launching the series in 2022 amid massive disruption and chaos to the traditional ecosystem.
His tenure is believed to be under serious threat, though LIV did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The new company will be chaired by PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan (left)
But Norman told LIV Golf staff on Wednesday that it was business as usual after the merger
When asked if Norman was aware of the deal, PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who will preside over the new entity, told CNBC, “I called just before that. [interview].’
The merger represents a major win for LIV Golf, which has been shunned by superstar players including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Since their inception in 2021, LIV Golf has managed to bring in some of the world’s best players and spend hundreds of millions on the likes of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson. Woods was offered one $1 billion deal that he eventually declined.