REVEALED: What Greg Norman told LIV Golf staff after PGA Tour merger

LIV Golf supremo Greg Norman held a meeting with more than 100 staff members after the shock deal to merge the PIF, PGA Tour's commercial interests.

Ben Smith

08 Jun 2023

REVEALED: What Greg Norman told LIV Golf staff after PGA Tour merger

Greg Norman has insisted LIV Golf isn't going anywhere.

A defiant Norman reportedly held a meeting with breakaway tour staff after the shock deal to merge Saudi Arabia's PIF and the established PGA, DP World Tour.

Norman wasn't briefed about the decision which has sent shockwaves through the sport and made Rory McIlroy feel like a 'sacrificial lamb' for leading the charge against their vastly wealthy rivals for the better part of two years.

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And Norman reportedly held a meeting with more than 100 staff telling them they aren't going anywhere despite embattled PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan revealing he 'can't see' the scenario that LIV would continue in its current form beyond 2023.

Per SI, Norman said:

"The spigot is now wide open for commercial sponsorships, blue-chip companies, TV networks.

"LIV is and will continue to be a standalone enterprise. Our business model will not change.

"We changed history and we're not going anywhere."

The aforementioned Monahan faced calls to resign during what was a tense meeting with the PGA Tour membership following the announcement on 6 June.

According to one player, he 'took it really well' when he was labelled a hypocrite.

He has now confirmed those who 'remained loyal' to the PGA Tour will be rewarded.

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Monahan said:

"I'm going to spend every single waking hour as we move forward here, we finalize this agreement and we move into the future, that the players that have created the PGA Tour, have created this pro-competitive, legacy-driven juggernaut, that have articulated and supported the direction that we’re going ... I believe, is going to make it better for all of our players, and loyalty, ultimately, as a leader, always needs to be rewarded.

"How that manifests itself is something I'm going to spend a lot of time working on. And I think when we're having this conversation down the road, that's something I look forward to being more specific about."

The deal to merge the PIF and the PGA Tour, DP World Tour's commercial interests was reportedly hatched over a series of secret meetings during the last seven weeks across the globe.

Monahan said he felt as though he could trust LIV's mastermind Yasir Al Rumayyan no sooner than 10 minutes into their first meeting together in Venice.

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