LIV Golf is struggling to survive at the moment. With the PIF planning to pull out, it might not have the funds to run its golf model. Despite that, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp believes that they benefited from LIV Golf’s existence. And he ended up proving Greg Norman right.

Rolapp recently said on The Pat McAfee Show, “I think LIV did what the AFL did for the NFL years ago. Maybe what the USFL did for the NFL years ago. Basically, competition can make it better. Whenever you get competition, you end up figuring out what you do well and what you don’t do well.”

Without competition, a product becomes stale. That’s exactly what the PGA Tour was heading toward before LIV Golf’s arrival. Jay Monahan took action, and the Signature events emerged. And as Tom Hoge believes, that hugely benefited the players and the level of competition within the PGA Tour.

Rolapp added, “That’s what LIV did was expose some things that the PGA Tour could do better. How we can make it better for fans? How we can make it better for professional golfers? How we can make it better for our television partners?

The changes that the Tour has made before I got here, the changes we’re doing now show that when you do those things, fans go to where the best product is and where the best golfers are. I think LIV did the professional golf world a favor. I spend most of my time thinking about the PGA Tour. The future is really bright for us and for professional golf.”

With the PGA Tour’s monopoly on professional golf, it could dictate the sport and players as per its strategy. However, since LIV Golf arrived, the best players have been able to see what is possible. One possibility they explored was the ownership of the IP rights. Since LIV Golf pros manage their IP rights, the PGA Tour players also saw it as an opportunity to grow their brand and took control of it.

Norman has not only taken credit for changing the landscape of golf. He also believes he deserves credit for some of the players’ individual achievements.

Why Scottie Scheffler & Co. should be thankful for Greg Norman?

The former LIV Golf CEO points specifically to the massive paychecks now common on Tour, arguing that stars like Scottie Scheffler have him to thank.

Since 2022, Scheffler has won many Signature events. The increased purses for the events helped him achieve remarkable heights. While Norman acknowledges how consistent he has been, the Great White Shark believes that if it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have earned as much.

Scheffler’s dominance is best measured by his rapid ascent up the all-time earnings list. After crossing the $100 million mark, he now trails only legends Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, putting him within striking distance—just $7 million behind the Irishman and $13 million behind the Big Cat—of rewriting the financial record books.

Would that have been possible without LIV Golf? Norman believes that Scheffler would have taken many more years to achieve the feat if it weren’t for the changes the PGA Tour introduced after the PIF-funded league began.