The Saudi Public Investment Firm is reportedly interested in moving Australian Greg Norman out of the position of LIV Golf CEO, though not out of the golf league’s offices entirely.
The PIF has contracted a London-based search firm to find a new CEO to succeed Norman in the role, the Sports Business Journal reported on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
PIF has previously used the firm, Odgers Berndtson, to hire a sporting director for Newcastle United, the English soccer club it controls.
Norman’s tenure as the first CEO and figurehead of the controversial golf league has been a rocky one, and there were points in 2022 and 2023 that reports indicated he was on the verge of being dismissed.
But the Sports Business Journal report said Norman “has continued to maintain support from those within LIV”, and he is expected to remain in a leadership role of some kind after vacating the CEO post.
LIV completed its third season this year and has grown to 13 teams of four golfers during Norman’s tenure.
Greg Norman remains a popular figure with golf fans and if he’s moved out of the CEO role it could be assumed he will remain as league commissioner and/or high-profile ambassador for LIV Golf. PHOTO: Getty Images.
Sapin’s Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton were the latest big names to leave the PGA Tour for LIV as the supposed negotiations between the sides on their “framework deal” have crawled.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have said that Norman ought to leave the role in order for LIV to better co-exist with the PGA Tour.
Norman, 69, is a former world No.1 who won 91 international tournaments, including 20 on the US PGA Tour. He won the 1986 and 1993 Open Championships, and placed second at least twice at every other major.
