Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy launched a new golf and reached out to Greg Norman’s successor at LIV Golf.

Norman was head of the breakaway league when it first launched in 2022. Despite LIV and the PGA Tour agreeing on the framework for a merger in June 2023, Woods and McIlroy have remained at loggerheads with the two-time major winner.

On Tuesday, Woods and McIlroy attended the inaugural Tomorrow’s Golf League match, launched by their company TMRW Sports. Blending virtual golf and matchplay, the indoor team event is a major shakeup in the golfing world—and an invite was extended to a LIV Golf executive.

The Sports Business Journal reported that Scott O’Neil, who is widely expected to replace Norman as LIV CEO, was spotted at the SoFi Center for the debut of TGL. There was no mention of O’Neil being accompanied by Norman. It has been reported that the 69-year-old will be moved into a different role by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

In 2022, Woods turned down a reported $800m offer from LIV to leave the PGA Tour. That December, at the height of golf’s fractious rivalry, Woods felt there was no hope of a merger because Norman was in charge. “Not right now, not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the tour itself. I don’t see that happening,” Woods said.

“As Rory said, I think Greg’s got to leave and then we can eventually, hopefully, have a stay between the two lawsuits and figure something out. But why would you change anything if you’ve got a lawsuit against you?

“They sued us first. I see that there’s an opportunity out there if both organisations put a stay on their litigation but that’s the problem, they’ve got to put a stay on it. I think it has to start with leadership on their side.”

Greg Norman

Greg Norman has been LIV Golf CEO since 2022 ( 

Image:

David Cannon/Getty Images)

While Woods is part of the PAC working on the merger between the PGA and LIV, McIlroy has also spent time with PIF officials. Having previously advised Norman to “exit stage left”, the Northern Irishman believed a deal would be easier to strike without Norman’s involvement.

“I think I’ve said this before, I have spent time with [PIF chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan] and the people that have represented him in LIV I think have done him a disservice, so [Greg] Norman and those guys,” McIlroy explained last year.

“I actually think there’s a really big disconnect between PIF and LIV. I think you got PIF over here and LIV are sort of over here doing their own thing. So the closer that we can get to Yasir, PIF and hopefully finalise that investment, I think that will be a really good thing.”

The launch of TGL had been delayed by a year before The Bay Golf Club scored a 9-2 win over the New York Golf Club on Tuesday. TGL is comprised of six four-man teams, with each 15-hole match split between triples and singles matchplay. Having been organized in with the PGA, TGL will be played on weekdays and is next in action on January 14.