The future of the commissioner of LIV Golf and CEO Greg Norman looks murky after the Saudi-backed league joined forces with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour on Tuesday.
The historic deal was announced without mentioning Norman, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) — told CNBC that he notified Norman of the deal just before the announcement.
Greg Norman waves to the crowd during the LIV Golf Invitational – Miami on October 30, 2022 in Doral, Florida. (Eric Espada/Getty Images)
«I made a call just before this and, of course, he is our partner, and all the stakeholders we have with us got the call just before this interview,» Al-Rumayyan said, according to Sports Illustrated.
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Norman has been more of a «figure figure» at LIV lately, and «is not expected to be part of the venture into the future«, according to the SI report.
LIV Golf did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Norman’s role in golf over the past few years has been disruptive, as he became the face of the LIV Golf League.
Greg Norman congratulates Harold Varner III on his victory at the LIV Golf Invitational – DC at Trump National Golf Club on May 28, 2023 in Sterling, Virginia. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
In 2022, both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy he said that Norman needed to get out of LIV before the two sides could start having discussions.
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«There are some things I’d like to see on the LIV side that need to happen,» McIlroy said in November 2022. «I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to come off stage left. He’s made his mark, but I think Now is the right time to say, ‘Look, you’ve got this off the ground, but nobody’s going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room who can try to fix things.'»
Woods agreed with McIlroysaying, «Greg has to go» when asked how the two sides could coexist.
Rory McIlroy during a practice round before the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on May 16, 2023 in Rochester, New York. (Andres Redington/Getty Images)
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Now, LIV and the PGA tour they are tied at the hip with the goal of «unifying the game of golf, globally.»
The new agreement will merge PIF’s golf-related businesses, which include LIV Golf, with those of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour into a «new for-profit entity, collectively owned to ensure that all stakeholders benefit.» of a model that offers maximum excitement and competition among the best players in the game».
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.