PIF to replace Greg Norman as CEO for LIV-PGA merger talk to advance

Greg Norman will not remain as LIV Golf CEO in the near future as Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy remain adamant about their choice.

PIF to replace Greg Norman as CEO for LIV-PGA merger talk to advance

Greg Norman (Image via Imago)

Greg Norman is expected to step down from the CEO position as LIV’s financial backer the Public Investment Fund has begun searches for a new head for the position. As per rumors, they have contacted Odgers Berndtson for the search which has now been going on for months in secret.

It’s not only the CEO position, the PIF is also looking to fill in executives to lead LIV Golf in the near future. While they may not cut Norman completely out of the picture, he’ll at least not remain as the CEO.

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Among some of the targeted sports personalities, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark had been contacted for the CEO role. However, according to reports, he almost instantly turned down the offer, saying he had no interest.

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Big 12 commish Brett Yormark was contacted few months ago by search firm seeking a new CEO for LIV Golf. ‘The call lasted only 1 minute,’ a source close to Yormark told [The] Action Network. ‘There was no interest on Yormark’s part.’ SBJ reported Yormark was among early targets to replace Greg Norman.

Brett McMurphy on X.

Greg Norman’s primary role as the CEO was to acquire high-ranking players which he did very well. Since its inception, Phil Mickelson has been involved with the LIV Golf. Later players like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Jon Rahm joined the league among others.

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LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman [Image Credit: Imago]

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy might just get their wish come true

Since LIV’s inception in 2021, the golf world has turned into a cold war zone between players and the two leagues competing against each other. They were literally at each other’s throats until it was decided they’d join hands for the betterment of the game through a merger.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods [Image Credit: Imago]

However, for that to happen, Greg Norman “has to go”. Some of the PGA Tour’s prominent figures like Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy have been against Norman since the beginning. They declared that for any talk to happen and come to a midpoint, LIV needs to remove Norman who has openly shown hostility towards them from the start.

I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark, but I think now is the right time to sort of say, ‘Look, you’ve got this thing off the ground, but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend forces.

Rory McIlroy as per Fox Sports.

Tiger Woods also mirrored McIlroy’s sentiment saying,

I think Greg’s got to leave and then we can eventually, hopefully, have a stay between the two lawsuits and figure something out…If one side has so much animosity, someone trying to destroy our tour, then how do you work with that?

Tiger Woods as per Andrew Gamble of The Mirror.

Jon Rahm, before joining LIV Golf, echoed the same, saying Norman’s “intentions might not be as pure as they could…So he might not be the best person for the job.” He said among Norman and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, one needs to step down.

While he boldly named Norman to be that person, he supported Monahan saying he has done a lot of good things to boost PGA Tour positively. Despite all the talk, there has not been any positive info about the merger.

With all the searching and scanning for LIV office personalities, things may change soon in the future. In the recent DP World Tour, Monahan was seen playing alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and McIlroy throughout the week.

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