Rory McIlroy: "I honestly don't know what the future holds for them"

Rory McIlroy says he doesn't know what the future holds for LIV Golf as he offered his verdict on Greg Norman's exit. 

The former World No.1 and two-time Open champ has been replaced in the top job effective immediately by Scott O'Neil. 

O'Neil is a former NBA and NHL executive with more than 25 years' experience in the sports entertainment industry. 

"I saw Scott was confirmed," McIlroy told reporters after shooting a 2-under 70 in round one of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. 

"Scott was at our Showdown match in Vegas and obviously Greg was as well. Then Scott was at the first night of TGL."

McIlroy was referring to his exhibition match at Shadow Creek against LIV recruits Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

The Ulsterman, 35, teamed up with PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler and together they comfortably beat the duo. 

McIlroy continued: "He has an amazing track record with what he has done in sports, in terms of managing teams and groups of teams, ownership groups. 

"He has got the right credentials to take over a sports league. I think for LIV it is probably a good move now they are established."

LIV's third full season gets underway in a few weeks in Riyadh. 

McIlroy was once one of Norman's harshest critics as he led the charge against LIV Golf. 

The PIF-backed leagued launched in June 2022 and McIlroy positioned himself as the unofficial spokesperson of the established PGA in the months leading up to and after the first event. 

The rift appeared personal, with McIlroy often taking digs at Norman. 

It all began in February 2020 when McIlroy spoke out against an upstart league, backed by Saudi oil money. 

McIlroy explained that he wanted to be 'on the right side of history' akin to Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. 

Norman was reportedly involved in a testy exchange with McIlroy whereby he told the Northern Irishman: "Maybe one day you'll understand."

McIlroy said he tried to patch things up after he watched a documentary about Norman's epic collapse at the 1996 Masters. 

He endured a meltdown of epic proportions at the 2011 Masters. 

Norman spoke candidly about his emotions on that day at Augusta National when he surrendered a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo. 

McIlroy told the Australian he thought the documentary was fantastic. 

A few weeks later, Norman called McIlroy 'brainwashed' in an interview with The Washington Post. 

McIlroy took a dig at Norman once again when he surpassed his record of PGA Tour wins at the Canadian Open. 

Then he urged Norman to 'exit stage left' in December 2022. 

Tiger Woods also called for Norman to leave his role so the 'adults in the room' could talk. 

The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF entered into a peace agreement in June 2023. 

McIlroy was blindsided by the announcement but had spent the prior months explaining that he was far too judgemental of the players that bolted for LIV.

That prompted Norman to say: "The reason I say I appreciate Rory falling on his sword, to some degree, is the fact that he did judge us by not knowing the facts.

"He judged us on other people's thoughts and opinions. So, I say, 'hey, thank you, Rory'. We all knew it was going to work within the golf ecosystem."

McIlroy told reporters in Dubai that Norman was probably one of the only guys that could've taken on his role with LIV. 

He added: "He got it off the ground and you have to commend him for that. Now it's time for someone with a bit more experience to take over.

"I honestly don't know what the future holds for them but the move they are making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn't look like they are going to go away anytime soon."

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