Golf star Cam Smith has expressed his surprise at reports suggesting that LIV Golf is planning to replace Greg Norman as CEO. Norman has been leading the Saudi-funded circuit since its launch in June 2022 and has seen the brand grow to rival the PGA Tour in men’s professional golf.
However, it appears that change may be on the horizon, with Sports Business Journal reporting that those above Norman are planning to move him into a new role. Despite being out of the loop on these developments, Smith believes there’s a chance Norman could retain his position.
“I definitely was not aware of it,” Smith told the Herald Sun regarding the report about Norman. “I was pretty surprised myself. I think he has been under a lot of (public) scrutiny for a few years. They had said he was going to go and he hasn’t.
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“I would not be surprised if it was all just a rumor. But by the same token I am not in the loop as to what is going on on the tour.”
Doubts over Norman’s future come with PIF continuing to negotiate a peace deal with the PGA Tour that is set to end their fallout with LIV. Previously, both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have claimed Norman would need to be removed from the top for there to be any peace within the sport, and they may well get their way.
PIF’s ongoing negotiations for a truce with the PGA Tour could lead to Greg Norman’s exit as LIV CEO, fulfilling a prediction shared by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Both golf icons have publicly stated that peace in the sport requires Norman to step down.
Cam Smith joined LIV Golf in 2022 (
Getty images)
McIlroy clearly stated in 2022: “I think Greg needs to go.I think he just needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to say you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one’s going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.”
This was echoed by Woods, who pointed out the need for legal disputes to be paused for open talks. “I think Greg has to go, first of all,” Woods said. “And then obviously litigation against us and then our countersuit against them, those would then have to be at a stay as well. So then we can talk, we can all talk freely.”
A potential agreement reached last June is still not finalized over a year later. The latest meetings took place in New York while PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan were seen together at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.