World No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy said Tuesday that one thing must happen before the PGA Tour and LIV Golf circuit can work together: LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman must step down.
Speaking to reporters ahead of this week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, McIlroy, a two-time Open champion, said the two sides would not come to an agreement until Norman, the new circuit being funded, had a public face. Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
“Some things I’d like to see happen through LIV,” McIlroy said. “I think Greg should go. I think he’s just going to leave the stage. He made his mark, but I think, ‘Look, you got this thing off the ground, but now is the right time to say it.’ Unless there’s an expert in the room trying to mend fences, no one talks.'”
Last week, the CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation and the leader of Saudi golf, Majid Al Sour, denied a report in the London Telegraph that Norman was being forced out. The Telegraph reported that LIV Golf was pursuing Taco Bell CEO Mark King to replace Norman. King was previously CEO of TaylorMade and president of Adidas in North America.
According to The Telegraph, the king attended several LIV golf events in the first season and met with Yasir al-Rumayan, the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
“Greg Norman is our CEO and commissioner,” Al Sour said in a statement last week. “Any suggestion that changes are being made to Greg’s title or role is patently false.”
In February, the UK panel of Sporting Decisions will decide whether the DP World Tour can punish its members who competed in LIV golf events, including Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and others.
LIV Golf and a few of its players filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging that LIV Golf was illegally barring PGA Tour players from competing in LIV Golf tournaments and abusing its monopoly power in squash tournaments. The PGA Tour filed a countersuit alleging LIV Golf interfered with its contracts with its members.
“It’s definitely been a very contentious year in golf,” McIlroy said. “And I said this: the best thing in golf is when all the best players play together, and what’s happening now, that’s not the case. So when that happens, I fear the game.
“It’s controversial because lawsuits are happening and people are suing people; it’s very, very messy. So again, if all of that can be fixed one way or another, you can get to a point where there’s forgiveness and people can live. There’s a dialogue and some kind of consensus or agreement. But with all this going on, it’s hard to do that.”
