LIV Golf CEO Pushes Back On PGA Tour Merger

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has pushed back on the idea of merging with the PGA Tour, as the future of men’s professional golf continues to look murky.

During an interview on The Rick Shiels Golf Show (which is hosted by the golf content creator who has a media deal with LIV), O’Neil was asked, “What would a merger look like?”

“I’m not sure it’s the right question,” O’Neil said. 

Negotiations between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, LIV’s financial backers, about a potential $1.5 billion investment deal that could bring the rival tours together have been stalled for months. Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are finalizing their 2026 season schedules, signaling yet another year that they will spend apart.

“If you go to the root of the question, saying: Are there opportunities for our golfers to play more golf together? Absolutely,” O’Neil said. 

O’Neil didn’t elaborate on what those combined playing opportunities could look like, but said that new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp will “help facilitate that at a faster pace than [they] otherwise would.”

Peacemaking On the Way?

O’Neil said he and Rolapp “know each other pretty well,” as they went to Harvard Business School together and are both Mormon.

During Rolapp’s 22 years at the NFL, where he was most recently chief media and business officer, O’Neil had executive positions with Madison Square Garden Sports (overseeing the Knicks and New York Rangers) and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (overseeing the 76ers and Devils).

“There’s only so many people running the world of sports in the U.S., and we go to the same church,” O’Neil said. “So, we’re friends.”

O’Neil said he expected to speak with Rolapp at the Open Championship later this month.

LIV’s Future

LIV continues to operate without Official World Golf Rankings points, and O’Neil called his recent conversations with OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman “robust, sometimes raw, but always constructive.” LIV has not yet submitted a new application to the OWGR board, nearly two years after its first attempt, led by former commissioner and CEO Greg Norman, was denied in October 2023.

Moving forward, O’Neil said LIV’s expansion could include adding more teams beyond the 13 four-player squads it currently has, and even a women’s golf league.