Scott O’Neil is wearing all black, which is apt this week because never has there been a concept which has further divided sports fans than the league he’s running.
LIV Golf: are you black or white? There’s no shades of grey here.
The man who once had to figure out how to get the best out of Ben Simmons as the boss of the Philadelphia 76ers is now taking over the house that Greg Norman started building.
He’s sitting on the balcony of a small room labelled “VIP suite” behind the 18th green at Grange Golf Club, the perfectly manicured Adelaide course which is hosting LIV’s fourth Australian incursion.
Everyone from rowdy men to young families and kids on school excursions have all lapped it up. Late night revellers can also enjoy acts such as Peking Duk and Fisher each night once the golf is done.
“Man, what a shot,” O’Neil bellows as the big screen beams vision of Spaniard David Puig making an albatross on the 10th hole, just the third time the rare feat has been achieved in LIV Golf’s short history.
A few moments later, Kiwi Ben Campbell holes out for eagle on the 18th right in front of O’Neil’s vantage point. Campbell taunts a bunch of well lubricated blokes in the crowd all dressed the same. They need to drink to that shot.
Gulp!
“It’s been fun,” says O’Neil, who has been LIV Golf commissioner for just over a year. “I don’t know how else to say it. It’s been the time of my life. Looking back when I came here a year ago, I had big, wide eyes – but I got it. I got what LIV is. I can understand the why.”
Putting aside the why for one moment, O’Neil is walking into perhaps LIV’s most turbulent period since Norman upended the traditional world of golf by poaching some of the sport’s biggest stars such as Australia’s Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau on mega money deals.
Smith almost conceded as much this week when he said he was more confident about LIV’s future in 20 years, rather than three. Translation: buckle up for a bumpy ride in the next little bit.
There are reasons why.
LIV has lost two bona fide stars in Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, who have both returned to the PGA Tour. It’s hurt the league’s attempts for current legitimacy among fans as it plans for the long-term future by signing elite young talent such as Elvis Smylie and Michael La Sasso.
World golf’s highest profile figure Bryson DeChambeau, whose YouTube channel features everyone from Donald Trump to Steph Curry and Adam Sandler and is watched by millions, is in the midst of delicate contract talks to stay with LIV.
The Saudi-backed circuit has finally got world rankings points to help its players, but is it enough when only 10 players per event can benefit?
The United States has still yet to really embrace the PGA Tour’s rival, and might not ever.
How much longer will Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund keep tipping in money to sustain the league?
“I will only speak for my experience, and my experience is we have commitments (from the kingdom),” O’Neil tells News Corp in an exclusive interview. “We’re empowered to do what we need to do – and we have the commitment to do it. We are operating on a seven-year plan.
“Since my first interview (about taking the job) to my last board meeting in Saudi during the event (last week), we have good commitment.”
The Financial Times estimated LIV has cost the PIF US$5 billion since 2021. There have been gradual signs the purse strings have started tightening slightly on the Saudis’ spending due to the volatility of oil prices and other projects on the horizon, including the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
O’Neil is adamant the commercial landscape for LIV is improving (they now count HSBC, Rolex, Salesforce and Aramco as sponsors), but there’s still a long way to go for the league’s end goal: to sell its franchises for hundreds of millions of dollars to wealthy investors Formula 1 style.
“I can tell you when I walked in a year ago, it was a bit of a blank canvas,” says O’Neil, the former American sports executive who worked in the NBA, NFL and NHL. “There wasn’t much commercial activity and quite frankly, I was most excited about that.”
By the end of 2026, O’Neil is targeting two of LIV Golf’s franchises to have much-needed external investment. One option is Smith’s successful Ripper GC, an all-Australian team headed up by the 2022 Open champion and former world No.2.
“They could be,” O’Neil says. “My preference is the person who invests in Ripper is an Australian. The person who invests in Southern Guards should be South African. It doesn’t have to be that way, but I think it makes a lot of sense.
“The interesting part is that these businesses will look very different in three or four years time. If you’re a company that wants to reach a global audience, you’ve got us and Formula 1.
“Where else are you going?”
LIV has slowly but surely leaned more into its global market, taking an event to South Africa this season for the first time. It has already sold more than 70,000 tickets and will easily reach 90,000. It will host other events in Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom.
O’Neil knows the places ignored by the PGA Tour for so long is where LIV is getting a foothold.
He’s also taken a more conciliatory approach than the abrasive Norman (O’Neil spoke to PGA Tour boss Brian Rolapp a month ago), and it’s come with some benefits such as the long-fought for recognition with world rankings points. He has also flagged the prospect of LIV tipping money in to help national championships, such as the Australian Open.
But the United States remains a huge hurdle. How do they get traction with American fans, staunchly wedded to a PGA Tour led by Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and with the backing of Tiger Woods?
Asked whether they could reduce the number of events played in America, O’Neil says: “There’s some tweaks in the US, for sure. But the US is the No. 1 sponsorship market in the world and it’s the No. 1 television market in the world. Period.
“That being said, there are 340 million people versus 7.3 billion. I’d rather be with the 7.3 billion. Most of our energy, effort and resources will be to grow the global game.”
Growing the game will also largely depend on whether DeChambeau stays with LIV, goes back to the PGA Tour or just ends up filming more social media content and playing in the four majors. He’s a name they cannot afford to lose.
It’s a sensitive topic given Koepka and Reed have already opted out. Even in Australia, DeChambeau is a huge fan favourite, and such is his profile, his caddie Greg Bodine is even recognised by fans.
O’Neil has signed off on hundreds of contracts with pro athletes over the years, but he may not have had one where the player is seemingly holding as many aces as Bryson, who could legitimately command hundreds of millions of dollars to stay.
“It’s a contract negotiation,” O’Neil says. “When they spill to the media, it’s not as productive.
“But he’s a quintessential LIV Golf star and there’s no pro athlete I’ve ever met that’s more focused on the bigger picture than Bryson.
“We will sort this out.”