Before you consider the magnitude of the task at hand LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil — before debating the merits of TV ratings and PR battles and a sport in a prolonged state of competitive turmoil and $5 billion in Saudi funding — you must first remember something very critical.
Scott O’Neil selected this.
“How you live is really a choice,” O’Neil wrote in his book, “Be where your feet are..” “What you’re going to do and who you’re going to do it with, those are choices that only you can make. That was my ‘aha’ moment.”
In two decades as a sports executive (mostly in basketball), O’Neil has earned a doctorate in organizational surgery — first as a marketing and sales executive growing up with the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia Eagles in the early to mid-1990s, then as president of the Madison Square Garden Companies. with Carmelo early Anthony Knicks and finally as CEO of process– era Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. In all of those jobs, O’Neil found himself selling losing business—and navigating his way back to winning.
Those experiences created a worldview that O’Neil relies on today as chief executive of a golf league still in its infancy. Since replacing Greg Norman as LIV CEO in January 2025, O’Neil has sought to overhaul LIV’s business, reorient its position in the pro golf world and lay the foundations for a path to profitability. These goals can sound obscure, but they have yielded some tangible changes: In November, O’Neil announced LIV — an organization so closely associated with the 54-hole tournament that it’s named for the Roman numeral for 54 — was extending his events to 72 holestakes effect immediately.
As the calendar turns to 2026, there are still many questions O’Neil’s league needs to answer: about LIV’s change of heart on “rivalry” with the PGA Tour, its long struggle for financial viability and, perhaps most pressing, how the league judges. himself. Earlier this week, I spoke with O’Neil about all of these topics and more; Our conversation below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Scott, I’ve heard you refer to yourself several times as a “change agent.” what have you done I think it should be changed for LIV Golf when did you get the job?
Yes, I would say that any four-year-old business in a very mature industry needs to be agile, busy and relentless. You must be on the evolution journey, if you will. What the group went through here to build and break into golf – I don’t know if we’ll ever see it again in our lifetime, and I think it’s kind of spectacular.
What I’m coming here to do is take that foundation and build the business. There are a multitude of paths that can lead us. One is clearly on the golf side – on the golfer’s side. When you start seeing faces like Tom McKibben and Josele Ballester and David Puig and Caleb Surratt — when you start seeing a next generation of emerging talent, that should give us confidence that this is going in the right direction.
But I came here for it completeNO compete — and, from a philosophical point of view, this is a change and change. How do we cooperate with institutions that are becoming (our) very good friends in degrees? The USGA and R&A are our agronomy partners; I would imagine that was unthinkable four years ago. To think that those two organizations would make way for us and recognize LIV? It’s wonderful.
I would say getting on television was another. Joining one of the big four networks and launching on Fox; adding a handful of household names as marketing partners like HSBC and Salesforce and Qualcomm; and having the likes of Ping and Callaway raise their hand and say, “Oh yeah, some of the best players in the world are there.”
These are the things we talked about getting to in the beginning, and we’ve had a fair amount of success.
Something I’ve always been a little confused about is that LIV doesn’t often state its intentions publicly. It’s very hard to know what LIV thinks about LIV’s performance to date. I noticed you changed it a bit. You announced $500 million in new sponsorships earlier this year, and you’ve been a little more transparent about the bigger goals, like OWGR. But before I get into the details, I wanted to ask you a simple question: If your time at LIV is successful, what will it look like?
I would say that we are the dominant global golf league and are recognized as such outside of the US, I think that would be successful.
What are some specific metrics you use to judge whether you are successful in that goal? What are you looking for to say “we’re on the right track” or “here’s where we need to keep growing”?
I have this hat that I wear all the time at home that says: Never satisfied, always grateful. There aren’t many things we check the box for here, so my approach is a little different.
It is not that we are not enjoying the journey of progress, because we are. It’s not that climbing isn’t exciting or fun. And it’s not like the incredible team we have here at LIV didn’t sign up for that. But this group is humble and hungry, and that combination sets us up for quite an adventurous run. I mentioned some of the things we’ve seen great progress on, but we’re not going to be out of work and we think there’s so much opportunity.
I have been in the sports business for a long time and there are general principles for professional sports that apply to LIV. We’re seeing so many opportunities here and – how do I say this in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m waving a flag? – I have faith. i have faith
What are some of the general sporting principles you are applying at LIV?
LIV is different from other tournaments. First of all, it’s a league, not a tournament. But one thing I’ve noticed is that we have incredible talent that we’ve asked to make a commitment, and they have. Bryson (DeChambeau) has led the way on social media, but so has Phil Mickelson, who is 55 years old. Our players are shaking hands, taking selfies, signing autographs when the cameras aren’t on them – it matters. They are appearing for additional media sessions. They are involved in a transmission. They are my business partners. You know, these guys are trying for sponsorship deals.
The focus on the product and the player is something that is universal in all sports. Sometimes everyone gets distracted by everything else. But we have the right product and we have a commitment from the players who matter most in the world.
But that’s the first thing. The second thing is: This business is simple, not easy. There are slight differences in each of the different sports. You need to get your streaming and media platform right. You need to have marketing partners—in our case, globally—that understand what you’re doing and want to get behind you. Your premium experience should be a no-brainer – when a VIP comes in, whether it’s a pro-am for some of our premium products, I believe it beats F1. And then you have to think about the fan. Can you concentrate your efforts and focus on the fan? Our fan is the next generation fan, and that’s the other thing you sometimes get distracted by: Can we keep the fan at the center?
One of those areas of focus you mentioned is media rights. LIV’s rights have expanded over the years, but audiences haven’t necessarily followed. Why do you think LIV has failed to sign a big-money TV rights partner?
Well, let me take you up 20,000 feet. Sure it’s a fledgling league, but there isn’t a four-year sports league in history that wouldn’t take our deals.
Remember, Fox is a big four network — and there are upsides in terms of ratings, too. We were up 120 percent year-over-year, and while that takes a lot more growth, if we manage some 100 percent growth over the next few years, I think we’ll be fine.
Also, we think (the ratings talk) is different. This is a global league, and so I’ve used the F1 and IndyCar analogy a lot. If we’re Formula 1 and our good friends on the PGA Tour are IndyCar — IndyCar is a great business. It is a US based business. But we’re going to get on a plane on February 1 and go to Riyadh, and then we’re going to Australia, and then we’re going to Hong Kong, and then Singapore, and then South Africa.
So I spend a lot of time thinking about our incredible partners at Fox and Fox Sports. But I’m also thinking about the UK and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. For us, the canvas is a little bit different, you know, it’s a little bit broader. I’m not running away from this. I’m leaning into it and saying, “Okay, okay, what does the Asian market look like? Who are the sponsors that we should be talking to? Who are the media partners?”
So what is my perspective? Returning to never satisfied, always grateful: Am I grateful for where we are? Absolutely. A four-year league like this has never been done before in sports. But do I want more? of course.
How do you think the official LIV World Golf Ranking app fits into the conversation? You’ve overseen a number of competitive changes aimed at gaining entry into the OWGR, and if accepted, LIV events will help players qualify for majors. Are you anticipating getting world ranking points soon?
I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I can say that we hope to be recognized by the OWGR before the start of the 2026 season.
I am very impressed and grateful to (OWGR president) Trevor Immelman. I think he might have the hardest job in the world and I might have suggested he be up for a Nobel Peace Prize given what he’s dealing with. Trevor speaks in the best interest of golf.
I have a lot of time for those who talk about open paths. I have a lot of time for those who think about the future of golf, in the best interest of golf, growing the game of golf. And all I’ve seen from Trevor since day one is a lot of them.
Last question. You wrote that you were fired from MSG when you were younger because you were more interested in being “fair” than “effective.” What is an example of something in LIV where you chose to be “effective” instead of “fair”
Man, I could give you 100 examples. I think when we came out of the gates, we were perceived as a bit anti-establishment. There have been moments since I’ve gotten here where we’ve tried to catch our breath, find some humility, and have a balanced conversation.
Sometimes it is very difficult. We will have unexpected objections at the last minute of deals, for example, we will have the “invisible hand” to pick us up sometimes. But part of “being effective” is about surrounding yourself with the most talented people in the world who stay focused on your mission.
This is golf. I think it is the most powerful sport in the world. I think it is the most important sport in the world. It’s a game that teaches you the most important values in the world: Humility and resilience and resilience, hard work.
But it’s still a game. Ultimately, it’s our job to put more clubs in the hands of more kids because we think these values matter in the world.
I know it sounds like I’m standing up at 20,000 feet, but if I don’t, who will?
