Greg Norman announced on Instagram his departure from LIV Golf on September 11th, like he was riding off into the sunset as a conquering hero. Four years of building a “movement that changed the game globally,” he wrote. The usual Norman bravado about globalization and innovation. But wait a minute – wasn’t this guy already shown the door back in January? The answer reveals a carefully orchestrated strategy that’s been months in the making.

Norman’s departure wasn’t sudden or unexpected. Scott O’Neil took over as CEO on January 15th, and Norman basically became a glorified figurehead. So why the big farewell post nine months later? The timing tells you everything about what’s really been going on behind closed doors. Yasir Al-Rumayyan wasn’t making impulsive moves here. The PIF governor had been planning Norman’s exit for months, maybe longer. Think about it – you don’t just stumble into replacing your most visible executive. This was calculated from the start.

The decision wasn’t emotional – it was pure business strategy. Documents from the U.S. Senate in 2023 revealed that PGA Tour officials specifically demanded Norman’s removal as a condition for merger talks. The writing was on the wall when Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy kept saying Norman needed to disappear before anyone would take LIV seriously. Al-Rumayyan heard that message loud and clear. Norman had turned into the guy everyone refused to sit down with, and that’s a problem when you’re trying to make deals.

Al-Rumayyan wasn’t sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike. By October 2024, he was already shopping for Norman’s replacement. Word got out that they’d approached big names like Brett Yormark from the Big 12. That phone call lasted about a minute before Yormark hung up, but it showed Al-Rumayyan was serious about finding someone new.

Norman’s contract running out in August? That wasn’t some lucky coincidence. Al-Rumayyan had been counting down the days, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move without turning it into a public mess.

Here’s the thing – Norman had made himself radioactive in golf circles. Remember in 2022 when he basically shrugged off Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by saying, “We’ve all made mistakes.”? Yeah, that didn’t play well with anyone. Add in years of taking shots at the PGA Tour, and you’ve got a guy nobody wants to negotiate with.

O’Neil was the complete opposite. Clean reputation, sports management experience, and most importantly, he hadn’t spent years antagonizing everyone Al-Rumayyan needed to work with. When you’re trying to broker a peace deal, you don’t send the guy who started the war. With Norman now out of the way, Al-Rumayyan will need to focus on the next challenge ahead.

LIV Golf’s roster reality check

However, Al-Rumayyan faces a bigger challenge than just replacing Norman. LIV Golf’s roster strategy has hit a wall, and the numbers tell a brutal story. The league can’t attract the only players who matter: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth. These are the names that could actually move the needle for LIV’s future.

Instead, LIV continues signing players who haven’t quite reached star status or aging veterans looking for guaranteed paydays. Dustin Johnson‘s $125 million contract expires at the end of 2025, and the league has already announced an end to massive upfront payments for renewals. This policy shift eliminates LIV’s biggest recruiting advantage over the PGA Tour.

The viewership numbers expose the harsh reality. When both tours held events simultaneously in 2025, the PGA Tour averaged 3.1 million viewers while LIV managed just 175,000. That’s an 18-fold difference that no amount of Saudi investment can ignore. Even LIV’s highest-rated broadcast in Miami drew only 484,000 viewers.

Al-Rumayyan’s strategic pivot makes perfect sense in this context. He’s realized that throwing money at second-tier players won’t build a sustainable audience. The PIF governor needs a merger with the PGA Tour to make LIV financially viable, and Norman was preventing that from happening.

Norman’s exit signals Al-Rumayyan’s shift from confrontation to collaboration. The PIF governor has already demonstrated this approach works – his friendly round with Jay Monahan at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2024 showed a willingness to build relationships rather than burn bridges. Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s sports investments extend far beyond golf. The upcoming flag football tournament featuring Tom Brady and current and former NFL stars next year in Saudi Arabia proves that Al-Rumayyan has other options for sportswashing at a fraction of LIV’s cost. This diversification gives him leverage in golf negotiations that Norman never possessed.

Norman’s departure was inevitable once Al-Rumayyan decided that merger talks were more valuable than maintaining the status quo. The Great White Shark served his purpose as LIV’s fiery launch director, but Al-Rumayyan needed a diplomat for the next phase. Sometimes the best strategy involves knowing when to change the game plan entirely.