LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil admitted the nascent golf league’s finances are “managed very tightly” and said structural changes are on the way, but he remained adamant Thursday that the league will not fold.
O’Neil was interviewed by LIV employees on the TV broadcast of the first round of LIV Golf Mexico City, a day after the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was on the verge of cutting its funding for the league it helped launch in 2022.
O’Neil, who has been in the position for 16 months after succeeding LIV’s initial CEO Greg Norman, did not address Saudi Arabia or its funding in the interview.
“For us, we’re business as usual,” O’Neil said. “If you want to ask me if this business is tough, I would say absolutely. If you asked me if we’re managed very tightly, I would say absolutely. Can this be challenging? Absolutely, and that’s what we signed up for, not just me, you, everyone here that’s with us down in Mexico City. We signed up for this adventure, and it is the ride of a lifetime, or should I say, round of a lifetime.”
Both O’Neil and LIV broadcasters have poked fun at the report and the speculation that ensued. At the top of the broadcast, David Feherty called the reports “absolute nonsense” while Arlo White made LIV out as victims by adding, “It must be exhausting trying to will the LIV Golf league out of existence.”
As for O’Neil’s interview, he seemed to confirm that LIV executives met in New York this week while refuting the idea that they were “summoned” on an emergency all-call.
LIV Golf is currently in Mexico City and Scott O’Neil was interviewed at the first round. Photo: Reuters