Rory McIlroy sees the moves LIV Golf is making and knows they're not planning on folding in the near future.
LIV Golf and Fox Sports announced a multi-year agreement this week which will see the league's 14-event schedule air live across Fox channels and platforms, including Fox, FS1, FS2 and Fox Business. The events will also stream on the Fox Sports app.
Additionally, LIV Golf has a new CEO, with long-time sports and entertainment executive Scott O'Neil taking over for Greg Norman in the role.
O'Neil taking the job had been reported for months, and he's already been doing some work behind the scenes for the league. McIlroy is impressed with LIV Golf's new front man.
"I saw Scott was confirmed,” McIlroy said. "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."
McIlroy also praised Greg Norman for helping to get LIV Golf started amid the public backlash, being the public face of the league and a recruiter to get PGA Tour and DP World Tour players to sign with the concept.
"Greg took a lot of flack the first couple of years,” McIlroy said to reporters after the first round of the DP World Tour's Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he is the two-time defending champion. "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 them but the move they are making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn’t look like they are going to go away anytime soon."
