Earlier this week, LIV Golf announced that Scott O'Neil would take over as the new CEO of LIV, replacing Greg Norman.
While playing in the Dubai Desert Classic this week, Jon Rahm, who is one of LIV's best and most important players, expressed his approval of the move.
“Even though Greg has treated me great, I think having somebody like Scott—who is a little bit outside the world of golf, but very much in the world of sport—makes him kind of a perfect match for the job,” the two-time major champion said.
Rahm added that he believes the difficult history between Norman and golf's governing bodies made a compromise between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf too difficult to achieve.
“As far as the merger talks go, I think, unfortunately, there’s been possibly a little too much bad blood between Greg and the governing bodies. And to have somebody outside of that might help the situation."
Rahm said he believes the deal that LIV has struck with Fox should benefit the league as well.
“When you add in the TV deal that’s been agreed with Fox, it’s all looking very positive just now, right?" he said. “Even though it’s mainly a U.S. thing to have the largest golf market in the world be able to watch LIV Golf on a channel that should be pretty much every TV in the country, it’s very good.
“Hopefully, we’re looking forward to some years where the LIV product and the relationship with the rest of the game sees a lot of improvement this year."
Rahm missed the cut in Dubai but will tee it up at LIV Golf's 2025 kickoff in Riyadh on February 6.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jon Rahm Says LIV’s Decision to Cut Greg Norman Could Help With Negotiations.
