Could LIV Golf be coming for the women’s game?
In an interview with Australian Golf Digest at LIV Adelaide, new LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil revealed he has explored that possibility—and vice versa.
“I’ve had the privilege of having a couple of conversations with Liz Moore, who’s the interim LPGA commissioner,” O’Neil said. “She’s going to join me in Miami (April 4-6), and we’re going to talk a little bit about how we might contribute to the women’s game.
“With LIV’s introduction, we’d like to take all the good that we’ve learned and put that into practice if the women’s game is one that we enter.”
The LPGA is currently looking for a new commissioner after Mollie Marcoux Samaan stepped down in January after three years at the helm.
The idea of the LPGA and LIV collaborating isn’t new, though. In 2022, Samaan admitted she would entertain discussions with the Saudi-backed circuit.
“I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors,” she said. “There’s a lot of factors to consider before we do business with LIV.”
Former LIV CEO Greg Norman, who was replaced by O’Neil in January, also said two years ago that he was in contact with professional female golfers about LIV dipping its toe into women's golf.
“That is a discussion we have internally on a regular basis,” said Norman, who is still involved with LIV in a smaller role. “I have personally had discussions with individual LPGA Tour players, Ladies European Tour [players].”
The Ladies European Tour already has ties to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Aramco, the Saudi oil company. Last week’s LET event was called the PIF Saudi Ladies International. It was played at Riyadh Golf Club, which also hosted LIV’s 2025 season opener.
However, with a framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV to form a unified golf enterprise, women’s golf might get a piece of the pie.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as LIV Golf’s New CEO Has Talked to LPGA About Contributing to Women’s Pro Game.
