Greg Norman Jr. is championing significant changes within LIV Golf, advocating for a radical shakeup of the Saudi-funded series.
Despite the PGA Tour hinting at major structural modifications this week and facing criticism over a proposal to reduce Monday qualifiers from its Players Advisory Council, LIV is under pressure to revamp its own format as it gears up another golf season.
LIV could see further expansion if Norman Jr.’s vision for a new team structure comes to fruition. He wrote on X: “For what its worth, Ive been preaching for a while that LIV should absolutely open up weekly qualifiers for a Peoples Team.
“A team that anyone can qualify for. If you play well, you stay on the team, and the general public can participate in shared ownership and governance.”
His ideas prompted debate online, with one user delving into specifics on X: “Team of Monday Q’s qualify. If they finish top 3 the entire team stays. If a player finishes top 10 individual he stays, rest of the team is replaced with new Monday Qs. If neither happen, entire new Monday Q team the next week.”
In response, Norman Jr. affirmed” “Yes. and they rack up points over the season to represent the People’s Team during the Season Team Championship.”
He went on to promise that golf would thus allow “average Joe’s” to catapult themselves into becoming a global name by hitting a good run of form in the public eye and thereby making their mark on the LIV setup.
The concept of ordinary players being able to compete against the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka is likely to be popular with some fans and could draw a broader audience if there isn’t a significant disparity in quality between the People’s Team and the rest on a weekly basis.
Naturally, the idea may need some modifications to work but the general agreement from Norman Jr.’s followers was that the idea had potential and could help LIV capitalize on a new initiative.
There’s speculation that Norman Sr. could be replaced as LIV’s CEO in the near future. The two-time major champion has fronted the Saudi-backed circuit since it launched in 2022 and was recently asked about his future by Sports Illustrated.
He said: “Ill answer it this way: My contract is through August of 2025. My commitment to LIV has been unquestioned and my commitment into the future is also unquestioned. Time will tell. Will there be a change in my role? My position and my role is to deliver 2025 and get our schedule done and all the things we need to do.”
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