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Scott O’Neil stepped into the role formerly held by Greg Norman in January, and LIV Golf is charging into what will amazingly be its fifth season. He’s doing everything he can to keep the merger process running smoothly. Beyond the boardroom politics, he’s also the guy signing off on LIV’s next big evolution, a 14-event, 72-hole global schedule from 2026, with extra promotion spots from the Asian Tour and LIV Promotions, all designed to make the league look and feel more like a “traditional” tour in the eyes of the OWGR.

Recently, O’Neil has talked openly about his long-standing connection with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, dating back to their days at Harvard Business School. And that’s exactly when he was asked about their conversations since Rolapp took over this summer, and O’Neil made it clear he’d only speak for himself, not for Rolapp.

“We’re both new in our roles, and I won’t speak for him. I’ll speak for me,” Scott O’Neil said. “I spend 95% of my time focusing on LIV Golf and how we grow this business and the other 5 on a whole host of things, including what the ecosystem looks like and how we can better engage.” And why wouldn’t he bring his best?

The irony is that, for all that effort, O’Neil admits we’re still in the “informal chats” phase he and Rolapp talk regularly, but even he concedes there’s no breakthrough deal lurking around the next corner just yet.

Remember, Eamon Lynch of Golfweek has cautioned that the PGA Tour’s fate might be decided in boardrooms rather than on fairways. In case you don’t, the Co-host of Golf Today on Golf Channel argued that every change LIV makes shows they were never trying to “grow the game with innovation” but simply buy their way into power.

He further said that shifting formats “from LIV to LXXII” doesn’t signal progress; instead, it exposes a failing strategy. That’s why he keeps circling back to the balance sheet – PIF has already green-lit close to $4 billion for LIV, with operating losses of roughly $394 million in 2023 alone, and outside estimates putting total spend near the $5 billion mark, all for a product he says still hasn’t produced a single clearly upward metric.

Lynch, moreover warns that giving Yasir Al-Rumayyan more influence would only boost his ambitions and hurt the PGA Tour’s long-term growth, which is why he believes the Tour should “wait them out.” But it turns out things may not be nearly as bad as they seem. Why, you ask?

Scott O’Neil, in his recent interview, insisted there’s a long-term strategy in place. While discussing the PGA Tour-LIV merger, the LIV Golf head honcho said, “I feel like there’ll be the new world order,” where the PGA Tour remains the top force in the U.S., and LIV becomes the leading tour everywhere else. He moreover believed that the two sides would eventually figure out how to work together, share content, and engage fans worldwide.

“Seems like the dominant player in the U.S. will be the PGA Tour, and the dominant player in the rest of the world is going to be LIV Golf, and how those leagues and tours coincide and work together and create content and engage, I think, will emerge over time. But we’re happy with our progress for sure,” Scott O’Neil added.

So, whether these changes help LIV gain OWGR recognition or not, they’ve clearly turned the league into a more serious challenger to the PGA Tour. Still, tensions remain.

Just last month, Rory McIlroy spoke about the PIF-PGA Tour merger and said there’s simply too much hostility between both sides for the deal to be smooth. Surprisingly, Bryson DeChambeau agreed with him.

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In his conversation with Fox Sports, Bryson DeChambeau admitted he doesn’t see a big breakthrough coming anytime soon. He told Ryan Morik, “I wish something major would happen, but I don’t think it’s going to… There are too many wants on both sides and not enough gives.”

Currently, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are both attempting to secure the most favorable terms in their negotiations. Earlier in April 2025, Jay Monahan and his team offered the PIF a $500 million credit to move the merger forward, but the offer backfired. Yasir Al-Rumayyan reportedly left the White House meeting visibly frustrated after being offended by the low valuation.

LIV has also attempted to use this tension to its advantage. They suggested a system that would allow players to move freely between both Tours, which could give LIV access to major stars like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. The idea shows how aggressively they’re pushing to gain equal footing.

DeChambeau also expressed optimism about the long-term future of the sport. He said, “I think there will be improvements… it’s a positive disruption,” adding that the sport needs time for the “water to settle” before any perfect solution emerges.

That said, do you believe Scott O’Neil’s vision of a “new world order” in golf could actually work, or is it unrealistic in today’s landscape?