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LIV Golf is poised for a big year, but managing director Majed Al-Sorour will not be a part of it. He is reportedly stepping down from his role, leaving room for CEO Greg Norman to assume more power with the upstart golf league.
Al-Sorour will still be on the board of directors, but will not be as involved anymore.
NUCLR GOLF tweeted:
"Per [Sports Illustrated Golf], Majed Al-Sorour is stepping down from his role as managing director at LIV Golf and more power will be assigned to Greg Norman as he prepares to take on an expanded role. Al-Sorour will remain on the board of directors."
Al-Sorour is the chief executive of the Saudi Golf Federation. He used to be a professional footballer and played for Saudi team Al-Nassr, who famously just inked Cristiano Ronaldo to a major contract.
He continued to rise the ranks of the Saudi Arabian sports world and became one of its most influential figures, but he's now ceding a bit of that influence to Norman, the former PGA Tour star.
Many members of the PGA Tour have called, most notably Rory McIlroy, for Norman to step down. Sports Illustrated highlighted the irony of the situation:
"Amid suggestions that he should be removed from his position, Greg Norman’s role as CEO and commissioner of the LIV Golf League is actually being strengthened, meaning more autonomy in running the second-year circuit that announced its 2023 schedule and will begin play next month."
In technical terms, the position that Al-Sorour has now vacated will not be filled. It will just cease, which gives Norman more to do and more power as a result. Al-Sorour was a big proponent of LIV Golf and helped build it, but is now taking a back seat.
What did Rory McIlroy say about Greg Norman amid LIV Golf spat?
Norman, who will now have an even stronger role in the league, has been a controversial leader, especially for those on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy, the world number one golfer, has had a longstanding feud with him. There was once a brief respite, but that has likely gone forever, as McIlroy said that Norman was fake to him:
“Then, a couple of weeks later, he does an interview with The Washington Post and says I’ve been “brainwashed by the PGA Tour.I’m like ‘For f***'s sake!’ We’ve had this really nice back-and-forth and he says that about me.”
He went on, detailing his new goal to try and derail the new league at every chance:
“I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to make it my business now to be as much of a pain in his a*se as possible. And that’s basically what I’ve done since.”
McIlroy has been one of the most vocal opponents of LIV and that's certainly going to continue now that his bitter rival has even more power over the game of golf.
This could be a make-or-break year for the upstart league, so it's important for them that Greg Norman does a good job.
