The "Great White Shark" may be seeing his golf extinction.
If you haven't heard, LIV Golf and PGA Tour have agreed to put aside their differences, with Jay Monahan becoming the CEO of, essentially, all of golf and putting Greg Norman somewhere on the outside looking in.
To that end, there's a healthy bit of ambiguity surrounding Norman's status as LIV Golf CEO. While Norman has been the driving force, the mouthpiece and the public face of LIV, his standing as, well, all of that, seems to be in limbo as the new venture is moving forward.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the LIV Golf and PGA Tour merger
Here's the latest on the LIV Golf CEO, and what may become of him as the two tours continue to align:
What happened to Greg Norman?
In the weeks after the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger, Norman's standing as CEO might exist in title only, though no official move has been made one way or the other. That said, some reports don't paint a particularly pretty picture of Norman sticking around once the dust settles and the hierarchy of the new golf entity is solidified.
Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig reports that Norman's role has become more "figurehead" than actual executive in recent months. That seems to coincide with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan's discussions with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF governor and chairman of the to-be-named golf entity.
In his interview with CNBC, Al-Rumayyan said that Norman, along with other stakeholders, were informed of the merger just a few minutes before the news of the merger was made official.
"I made a call just before this and of course he is a partner with us, and all the stakeholders that we have with us they had the call right before this interview," Al-Rumayyan said.
This seems to indicate that Norman may not have been in on the discussions to join the golf circuits together. If he was, maybe he didn't have as heavy a hand in it all as he may have liked. USA Today reports that Norman was "clueless" about the discussions and what went into them.
A great day in global golf for players and fans alike. The journey continues!!
— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) June 6, 2023
Golf writer Alan Shipnuck notes that Norman's role — if there is one — will be sorted out as details are worked out in the coming months. That may be to continue to oversee LIV Golf (for however long it may exist) or "ride off into the sunset."
While Norman has kept a relatively low public profile since the merger news broke, ESPN reported June 16 that he and his wife have been named as the defendants in a civil suit filed in Florida in March.
An unidentified girl and her parents have accused the Normans of negligence, saying the girl, a minor, was provided alcohol and later sexually assaulted during a party at the Normans' Palm Beach County home. Norman has not commented on the lawsuit.
MORE: Winners and losers of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal
Who runs LIV Golf?
When it comes to the LIV hierarchy, it's unclear where exactly Norman fits in, but there's a clear 1-2 at the top.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan taking a financial stake in the PGA Tour (and being placed on the PGA Tour's policy board), it would seem that he sits on the throne for all of golf and the new merged entity.
Jay Monahan's new title of CEO of the new, merged entity means that he is technically the boss of LIV Golf and all under the umbrella. That leaves Norman, the boisterous face, voice and CEO of LIV Golf since its inception, dangling in the wind somewhere.
Norman was not mentioned in the initial press release surrounding the new entity, with Al-Rumayyan admitting he informed Norman of the merger just minutes before a scheduled appearance on CNBC.
Sports Illustrated notes that Monahan has the power to "disband" LIV Golf as he sees fit. If nothing else, that may be a possibility as the circuit failed to grab eyeballs in its second year of existence.
Though questions remain over what LIV Golf will be, who will run it or even if it exists, one thing remains constant: Rory McIlroy still hates them.
