LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil

Scott O’Neil watched part of the meeting room at Maridoe Golf Club in Dallas on Saturday afternoon.

As the new LIV Golf CEO reflects on the status of the global golf league he now leads, he wears a black Liv Golf Polo and a silver Liv Money Clip. The environment is also appropriate, the league says: Liv Dallas, the ninth LIV event of the season, attracted 20,000 fans on Saturday, a record single-day turnout for the LIV event in the U.S.

“This has become a World Health Organization for celebrities, influencers, athletes and businessmen,” O’Neal said in an interview with Golf.com. “It’s special.”

O’Neil replaced Greg Norman in January, a newbie in the golf world, but not sports and entertainment. Prior to his job at LIV, he was CEO of Merlin Entertainments, a company that oversees theme parks and other attractions around the world. O’Neil, 56, held executive positions on other professional sports teams early in his career, including the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Devils of New Jersey.

O’Neil attended Villanova University, which graduated in 1992, and later received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he counted Brian Rolapp, the current CEO of the PGA Tour, among his classmates. O’Neal says he plays golf in Trump’s country in Bedminster, NJ

When he entered his sixth month of work, O’Neil talked about Liv’s status, relationship with Rolapp and why he saw Liv Golf as a “good guy.”

For clarity and simplicity, this interview was easily edited.

Golf.com: Are you welcome as a newbie in the sport?

Scott O’Neal: As far as the golf ecosystem is concerned, I’m extremely welcome. That’s from USGA and Augusta [National] R&A and the US PGA, from the world’s pings and Callaways to golf, are the largest network executives with the main focus. I felt like I was brought in and received and sat in a seat on the table and also had the opportunity to be this incredible golf family.

Regarding LIV, what was the thing you didn’t know when you first took this job?

a lot of. First of all, we are good people. This is my biggest surprise since I came here. We have this beautiful mission to develop golf games. Bring the best players to four corners of the earth.

What does “task” mean?

I feel like we are alive. Some of what you’ve seen here today [at LIV Dallas] With these large crowds, bustling crowds. But start in Riyadh and go to Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, South Korea and Mexico City – these countries don’t have the chance to see this star power in golf. Statistics are in our favor. 30% of our attendees have never competed in golf before. Just looking at the crowd here [in Dallas]so amazing. 40% of our audience are usually female. When does golf happen? You will see parents pushing a cart. I met more smiling kids, and I think that’s the next generation of golf.

anything else?

The biggest thing is the purity of the mission. Working with golfers, I was surprised. We have a gift that in many cases is the biggest star or business partner, so you are part of their team. I didn’t expect [the players] So talented in business. I didn’t expect how hard they worked on their craft, how focused they were on taking care of their bodies and minds. How much time these guys spend on range and putters perfecting their work. This was a real surprise.

You are friends and former business school classmate, Brian Rolapp, the new PGA Tour CEO. Do you think your relationship can help build bridges between your two organizations?

He is a good friend. I don’t think it’s about Brian or mine. The boards of these organizations decide that what is happening in golf is not good enough. They went out and all recruited different executives into this incredible world of golf. We all know what we need to do, what we have to do, what we need to do, what we should do, what we should do. I think we’ve seen the golf world blend together in several different ways. We should unite and participate in cricket, tennis or soccer.

You express excitement about your new role. Have you gained the same enthusiasm from Brian about his feelings about his new job?

Brian and I have been in the sports business for a long time. I would speak for myself – I don’t want to speak for him – but the chances of participating in sports leagues don’t come up often. Liv has some of the greatest stars in the game, and you have a global platform, a canvas that is only three years old.

How do you think of Liv Golf’s position in the global game?

I always think of Augusta [National] As the purest expression of golf. The master is almost indescribable in terms of purity and beauty. And I always think the Ryder Cup is boisterous, full of nationalism and pride, energy, yelling, screaming, singing and flags. But we still love these two incredible golf expressions. this [LIV] It is the third expression of golf. It’s fun; the concert has a real impact, and it’s a young one. I think those who love golf should embrace and understand this, which makes more people participate in this incredible sport.

What did you see in LIV?

I think my character is to become an ambassador to the game. This is to help strategically guide the direction of this business. This is to ensure we have an increasingly growing and intensified field of competition, we will continue to keep our fans at the center of everything we do and continue to represent all the incredible values ​​this game brings.

Does Liv need to make a deal with the PGA Tour?

I think many of us are trying to do the best things for the golf world. There is a big difference between the platform we do on the PGA Tour and what LIV is doing. The audience is very different. We have a global platform and we love the concept of bringing this game into the world. I want to say that almost everyone I met at golf wanted to do the best thing about the sport and we were all on this trip. Over time, we all figure out what is the best.

Of course, it’s still early in your tenure, but do you have plans to keep your LIV on an upward trajectory?

Yes, a lot of what I want to say started with the Fox (TV) deal, with major U.S. networks recognized a new high-profile Scrappy League. Many of them are related to the involvement of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson. It certainly helps when you have a name like this. But it is a good start to gain recognition from the world’s great media network. Then see our global partners because we are global property–never seen sponsors rush to attend events I’ve seen in the past six months. I happen to have an incredible chairman. His Excellency Yasir Bin Othman al-Rumayyan is the reason I work in this job because I believe in him, I believe in his vision, and I believe his will to do the best thing for this incredible game.