LIV Golf continues to add to roster, another sign it believes it is here for long term
LIV Golf announced several executive hires Wednesday, another sign the Saudi-backed golf league believes it is here for the long term.
David Phillips has been named chief financial officer. Ross Hallett is the new head of events. Katie O’Reilly heads team business operations. Tim Taylor will lead LIV Golf’s London office. Pam Sacree is the head of human resources.
The new executive positions will be based in either LIV’s New York or London offices.
LIV's main offices are in West Palm Beach and London.
Phillips was the chief financial officer of the Equinox Group. Hallett was a senior vice-president and head of golf events for IMG. O'Reilly was the chief revenue officer for the Philadelphia 76ers, and was named one of Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 in 2024.
"LIV Golf is building a global organization with a team of talented professionals whose excellence is rivaled only by our players on the course,” said LIV CEO and commissioner Greg Norman, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens.
“We’re proud to continue building on our tremendous success so far with the addition of top-flight executives across our business divisions. Our players, our team franchises and our growing staff are laser-focused on the league’s long term future, supporting the game, attracting more fans to the sport that we love, and establishing a truly international golf league.”
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Negotiations between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are into their 11th month since a framework agreement announced in June that would combine their commercial businesses and rights into a new for-profit company.
Many speculated then that LIV — which is owned and bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund — could be eliminated when (and if) a deal is finalized. But in October, Norman told a small group of reporters the league will continue to grow and exist separately from the PGA Tour.
LIV then backed that up less than two months later with the stunning signing of Jon Rahm, which was followed by adding Tyrrell Hatton. The league then expanded from 12 to 13 teams.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said at The Players Championship in March negotiations with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the man behind the PIF, were accelerating.
Last week at the Masters, Tiger Woods said a meeting held in the Bahamas following The Players and attended by PGA Tour Policy Board members, Monahan and Al-Rumayyan, was “positive” but added he did not believe the sides are any closer to a deal.
Woods is a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board.
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LIV Golf makes several executive hires, another sign it's here long term?
