LIV Golf expected to announce new CEO next week, Scott O’Neil reportedly in line to take up position

The LIV Golf is expected to announce a new CEO next week who will replace the former Australian pro golfer Greg Norman. According to Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter, Scott O'Neil is a front-runner to take up this position.

O'Neil is the CEO of Merlin Entertainment in the UK and has previously served as the top executive for Philadelphia 76ers and NJ Devils. However, according to Sky News, he has stepped down from this role, adding fuel to the speculation.

The NUCLR Golf posted this update on their X account and wrote:

"LIV Golf could announce Greg Norman’s replacement as early as next week and is reportedly in advanced discussions to hire Scott O’Neil as its new CEO. Sky News reported today that O’Neil has just stepped down from his role as CEO of Merlin Entertainment in the UK. O’Neil previously served as the top executive for the Philadelphia 76ers and NJ Devils."

Earlier, Greg Norman revealed to Sports Illustrated that his contract with LIV runs through August 2025. And even if Scott O'Neil replaces him as the CEO, Norman is expected to be associated with the league in a senior role.

Scott O'Neil already has ties with LIV as the league hired Katie O'Reilly from the 76ers earlier this year to lead its team business operations. Katie was hired by O'Neil at the 76ers in 2013 in sales at MSG and in the NBA's TMBO department.

He is a well-known entity in the sports business sector, and hiring him would be a statement from PIF's Yasir Al-Rumayyan about LIV's future.

LIV has already hired new people this year, like Adam Harter as the Chief Marketing Officer, John Ruzich as the Chief Legal Officer, IIana Finley as the Chief Communications Officer, and David Phillipps as the Chief Financial Officer.

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2025 LIV Golf season schedule

Jon Rahm after winning the season-long individual championship at LIV Golf Chicago - Source: Imagn

The 2024 LIV Golf season concluded in September, with Jon Rahm winning the season-long individual championship while Ripper GC won the Team Championship at Dallas.

The Saudi-backed league has announced its schedule for the first ten events for the 2025 season. The venues and schedule for the final four events, including the team championship, are yet to be announced. There have been two new venues, with Korea and Indianapolis getting an event.

So here are the first ten events of LIV Golf from the 2025 season:

• Riyadh - February 6-8
• Adelaide - February 14-16
• Hong Kong - March 7-9
• Singapore - March 14-16
• Korea - May 2-4
• Dallas - June 27-29
• Andalucia - July 11-13
• UK By JCB - July 25-27
• Chicago - August 8-10
• Indianpolis - August 15-17