Rory McIlroy changes tune on LIV Golf CEO Greg | Golf News

Rory McIlroy has counseled LIV Golf for appointing Scott O’Neil because the new CEO after Greg Norman’s exit, marking a important change in management for the contentious golf collection. LIV Golf confirmed on Wednesday that Norman can be standing down from his place, with O’Neil poised to imagine control.

Despite his previous criticism of each LIV Golf and Norman, McIlroy really acknowledged the ex-CEO’s current optimistic contributions. He stated: “Greg took a lot of flack the first couple of years. He is probably one of the only guys in golf who could have taken on that role. He got off the ground and you have to commend him for that, now it is time for someone with a bit more experience to take over.”

But beforehand, McIlroy had been overtly vital of Norman, even suggesting over two years in the past that Norman ought to resign to facilitate a good relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

“I think he just needs to exit stage left,” McIlroy stated. “He’s made his mark, but I think now is the right time to sort of say, ‘look, you’ve got this thing off the ground, but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences’.”

The incoming CEO O’Neil is no stranger to McIlroy, having attended The Showdown in December the place McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler competed towards Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

At the TGL launch, golf icons McIlroy and Tiger Woods had been current alongside O’Neil. McIlroy praised the new CEO’s monitor document, as he stated: “Scott was at our Showdown match in Vegas and obviously Greg was as well.

“Then Scott was on the first night time of TGL. He has an spectacular monitor document in sports activities, managing groups and possession teams.”

O’Neil joins LIV during a challenging time for men’s professional golf, with the PGA Tour engaged in discussions with LIV’s Saudi backers, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). His appointment is seen as a stabilizing force, particularly due to his solid rapport with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

Monahan is deeply involved in negotiations with PIF and often leans on McIlroy as a key ally among players. While the future of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf remains in flux, McIlroy has acknowledged the persistence of the rival league.

He said: “I actually do not know what the long run holds for [LIV]. But the strikes they’re making, particularly from an government standpoint, recommend they are not going anyplace anytime quickly.”