LIV Golf announced this week that it hired former NBA executive Scott O’Neill to serve as the league’s new CEO. O’Neill, of course, replaces the controversial Greg Norman, who served as commissioner since the league’s inception in 2022.

The news came during the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where both Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are beginning their 2025 campaigns. When asked about O’Neill, both Rahm and Rory offered rave reviews.

“I saw Scott was confirmed,” McIlroy said to Bunkered.co.uk while in Dubai.

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

Rahm echoed these sentiments.

“I think having somebody like Scott, who is a little bit outside the world of golf but very much in the world of sport makes him kind of a perfect match for that,” Rahm said after missing the cut Friday.

“Unfortunately, there’s been a little bit, possibly a little too much bad blood between Greg and maybe the governing bodies, and to have somebody outside of that might help the situation. Plus, [O’Neill’s overall view of what a league or an organization could work and should work with his experience in the NBA, right? With that, and based on what I talked to him about the vision he has and his enthusiasm, I think he’s going to be a very positive impact for LIV, and FOX, obviously, as well.”

The other big LIV Golf news this week is that the league struck a television deal with FOX Sports, a massive step up from its previous deal with the CW Network.

“Even though it’s mainly a U.S. thing to have the largest market, golf market in the world be able to watch LIV Golf on a channel that for the better part should be pretty much every TV in the country, it’s very good,” Rahm added.

“Looking forward to hopefully improving some years. A lot of improvement this year.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.