For the better part of three decades, Greg Norman fought the PGA Tour hierarchy, a global sports icon who believed he should be able to parlay his appeal into opportunities beyond the constraints of the North American-based golf circuit, without impunity.

The Tour leadership consistently viewed the situation differently, believing that no star player is bigger than the game, and that the rules in place were meant to protect sponsors and television rightsholders, allowing for the ever-growing purses that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

And here we sit today, the men’s professional game still in flux as various entities involved with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia—which backs LIV Golf—attempt to work out some sort of financial deal that would also, in theory, reunite the game.

From the outside, there are no easy answers as it relates to Norman’s plight and the pushback he received.

A member-based organization such as the PGA Tour understandably is going to have rules that are put in place for the benefit of the whole. Players who join agree to those rules.

Norman followed the rules but also complained about them—publicly. He believed that the rules were too restrictive. Having to commit to 15 events per year was one thing. Needing permission to play beyond that—in the form of releases—was another. And beyond a certain number, those releases came with conditions.

It is at the crux of the LIV Golf dilemma. Should a player be able to play wherever and whenever he wants? What about the fact that a LIV player is contracted to play all of its events when scheduled? Is there room for compromise?

As recently as October, when Norman spoke to Sports Illustrated, he lamented the current plight.

“This was such a simple fix,” Norman said. “I will go to my grave wondering about those first 18 months (with LIV) and why. Knowing where we are today. Knowing the acceptance of what LIV Golf is today. Why did it have to be that way?

“You sit back and see all the people in the industry who created this angst. I just wish I could go back in time and revisit the start. And knowing what they know, would they have done things differently? I bet they would have.”

It’s impossible to know for sure. But it is now clear that as Norman leaves his role as CEO and commissioner, the talking points are a bit more conciliatory, the mandate to look forward and work toward solutions.

Scott O’Neil, the new CEO, said in an interview last week with Sports Illustrated that he has a longtime relationship with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. He mentioned this without prompting and it’s a stark departure from previous sentiment at LIV. Monahan never took the call that Norman believes might have changed the path of this situation.

Monahan has not responded to a request to comment, and it is important to note that the PGA Tour’s negotiations have been with the PIF—and not LIV Golf. But O’Neil’s tone is clearly different.

“We want to be part of the golf ecosystem,” O’Neil said. “We believe we can work together to get more people playing the game, get more people watching the game.”

How that translates to getting some sort of agreement remains unclear. LIV is operating separately from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour this year, and many of the biggest events on both circuits conflict.

But LIV’s schedule will end earlier this year, allowing for more DP World Tour starts in the fall. And nothing else could practically emerge in 2025 anyway.

Jon Rahm, who played the DP World Tour event in Dubai over the weekend, said he met with O’Neil during LIV’s Teams event in Florida and came away impressed while explaining a shift in philosophy might be good.

“Even though Greg has treated me great, 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 the perfect match for that,” Rahm said in Dubai.

“I think, unfortunately, there’s been a little bit, possibly a little bit too much bad blood between Greg and maybe the governing bodies, and to have somebody outside of that might help the situation. Plus his overall view with what a league or an organization could work and should work with his experience in the NBA.

“With that and based on what I talked to him about and the vision he has and his enthusiasm, I think he’s going to be a very positive impact for LIV, and Fox (and its TV deal with LIV), obviously, as well.”

Rahm added: “I think having an outsider, I say outsider because he has not been involved, could be a very good thing when it comes to him sitting down at the table with the other governing bodies. I think an outside perspective, and maybe a less, possibly a less threatening image, might help that, as well.”

Rory McIlroy went so far as to give Norman credit for getting LIV off the ground. That would have seemed impossible in the early days of LIV Golf, when McIlroy relished surpassing Norman’s PGA Tour victory total and called for him to be ousted before any meaningful discussions could ever take place.

He also pointed out that O’Neil attended the first night of TGL on Jan. 7 and was at the Showdown match last month—along with Norman—in Las Vegas.

“He has an amazing track record with what he has done in sports in terms of managing teams and groups of teams, ownership groups,” McIlroy said in Dubai. “He has got the right credentials to take over a sports league. I think for LIV it is probably a good move now that they are established.”

O’Neil previously served as CEO of the parent company of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, among other positions.

As for Norman, McIlroy said: “Greg took a lot of flak the first couple of years. He is probably one of the only guys in golf who could have taken on that role. He got it off the ground, and you have to commend him for that. Now it’s time for someone with a bit more experience to take over.

“I honestly don’t know what the future holds for (LIV), but the move they are making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn’t look like they are going to go away anytime soon.”

That has been apparent for some time.

How it looks, what it means for the overall game, remains among the big unanswered questions.

The Genesis Invitational dilemma

The PGA Tour and officials associated with the Genesis Invitational made the difficult but understandable decision to relocate this year’s signature event from Riviera Country Club in suburban Los Angeles to a yet-to-be-determined location due to the deadly wildfires in the area. The tournament is scheduled for Feb. 13-16.

While the golf course that has been a longtime host to the event—and is scheduled for a U.S. Women’s Open, the Olympic Golf Tournament and a U.S. Open in coming years—has not been impacted by the fires, the surrounding area has been badly hit.

The idea of playing there would have not only been a bad look but it was likely not feasible, given all of the logistical challenges that exist in the area.

And now the parties are faced with another tough decision: where to play.

While it might have been easier and less costly to simply cancel the tournament, that was likely never a serious consideration. The PGA Tour’s mission is to pay out purses to its players, and a $20 million one is on the line.

So, too, is the fact that the PGA Tour collects substantial sponsorship money from Genesis and CBS/Golf Channel—well in excess of the purse—which means it is a revenue source.

The host organization—in this case the TGR Foundation, Tiger Woods’ charitable foundation—is the one that potentially takes on a huge financial hit.

PGA Tour events are typically run—and many times owned—by local charitable organizations that spend the majority of the year planning the event. To do so, they incur numerous expenses, including the salaries of staff as well as securing all the grandstands, hospitality venues and all manner of items such as pro-am gifts. By this stage, a good bit of the money has been spent.

Without a tournament, tickets would need to be refunded, as well as the high-end sponsorship packages.

The notion of moving the event will come with added costs, which is why existing venues that are hosting tournaments are places that come to mind for moving it.

This week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale and the just-concluded American Express at PGA West in Palm Springs have been speculated about as potential Genesis sites with no confirmation.

The San Diego Union-Tribune talked to Farmers tournament director Marty Gorsich last week, who explained the potential hurdles.

Torrey Pines is a city course and it’s quite possible that numerous bookings for that week have already been made, along with room reservations at the nearby hotels.

A tournament with limited fans or robust attendance would also factor into any decisions, as well as the number of volunteers needed. Security, police issues … all are part of the challenge.

“There are lot of questions I would need to ask,” Gorsich said.

It’s likely many of them have been asked about now. Genesis tournament officials have so far declined to comment as their event is now just three weeks away.

Rahm, Hatton and the Ryder Cup

Hovering over the situation involving Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and the Ryder Cup is the fact that they have appealed their fines and suspensions from last year, which is allowing them to compete in DP World Tour events and thus be eligible for the competition later this year at Bethpage Black.

The same situation applies to Sergio Garcia, who will also face fines this year as he attempts to return to the Tour. Whenever they compete in LIV Golf events that conflict with the DP World Tour events, the players face fines, suspensions or both.

Hatton, who won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, now leads the European Ryder points list although he is not expected to play in another regular DP World Tour event prior to the Ryder Cup.

The DP World Tour said last year that Rahm owed a “substantial” amount in fines due to playing in conflicting events and that would in theory also apply to Hatton. The figure was not disclosed but it is well into six figures.

Rahm and his representatives balked at paying the fines out of principle because he believes the DP World Tour wants him to compete in their events.

A DP World Tour spokesman said that discipline matters are handled on a case-by-case basis, and not all fines or suspensions are for the same amount or length of time. Much of it depends on whether a LIV event conflicts with a DP World Tour event and where it is being played.

Rahm in September appealed and that is where the situation gets murky. When will the appeal be heard?

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I can tell you my plan is to be on that team at Bethpage,” Rahm said last week at the Hero Dubai Classic, where he missed the cut.

Asked specifically about the outcome of the appeal, Rahm said: “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m hoping they don’t try to settle the appeal before the Ryder Cup. I don’t think that would be good for anybody.”

Then the question is what happens if the appeal is heard after the Ryder Cup and Rahm—and Hatton—lose? A precedent has already been set on the matter from a 2023 UK arbitration panel, which ruled in favor of the DP World Tour and the ability to enforce its rules.

“With the appeal process and what’s happening there, that’s allowed me to be able to play,” Hatton said. “And I love starting my season in the Middle East … whatever happens with the appeal process, whenever that will be, I hope that I will still be able to continue to support this tour.”