LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil makes big revelation as PIF ‘likely to invest’ in PGA Tour to force merger

The 2025 LIV Golf season started last week at Riyadh Golf Club, with Adrian Meronk winning the individual event while Legion XIII won the team event. The Saudi PIF-backed league moves to Adelaide for its second event starting February 14 at Grange Golf Club.

The new LIV Golf CEO, Scott O'Neill, attended the pre-round press conference in Adelaide and cleared a lot of air about the PGA Tour and PIF deal. He believes it will open up plenty of opportunities.

"So PIF, they're the investor and creator of LIV, okay. PIF is a sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and they are likely to make an investment into PGA Tour Enterprises, a new structure that a collection of U.S. investors invested in," Scott O'Neil was quoted as saying during the presser by Flushing It.

"For us at LIV, we are hoping that unlocks opportunity. That may unlock opportunities with markets, courses, with marketing partners, with television networks, with growing the game, with competition opportunities, with new formats," Scott O'Neil added.

Scott O'Neil has taken over Greg Norman as the new CEO of the LIV Golf League. The league has received some great news this year, with Fox Sports joining as the official broadcaster and R&A creating a special exemption for LIV Golf.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour and PIF had devised a framework agreement for a merger in 2023, but unfortunately, they haven't been able to negotiate the deal yet. However, the PGA Tour commissioner and player director met Donald Trump earlier last week and asked him to get involved in these negotiations. Hence, we can expect a decision to be finalized soon.

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LIV Golf Adelaide pairings and shotgun tee time

The 2025 LIV Golf Adelaide will begin on February 14 at 12:45 PM local time.

2025 LIV Golf: Adelaide - Previews - Source: Getty

Here are the pairings for all LIV Golfers competing in the first round of the 2025 LIV Golf Adelaide.

• Hole 1: Cameron Smith (Ripper GC), Ian Poulter (Majesticks GC), Louis Oosthuizen (Stinger GC)
• Hole 2: Sergio Garcia (Fireballs GC), Dustin Johnson (Aces GC), Brooks Koepka (Smash GC)
• Hole 3: Bubba Watson (Rangegoats GC), Kevin Na (Iron Heads GC), Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC)
• Hole 4: Phil Mickelson (Hyflyers GC), Chieh-CH Pei (Wild Card), Martin Kaymer (Cleeks GC)
• Hole 5: Mito Pereira (Torque GC), Sebastián Muñoz (Torque GC), Carlos Ortiz (Torque GC)
• Hole 6: David Puig (Fireballs GC), Louis Masaveu (Fireballs GC), Abraham Ancer (Fireballs GC)
• Hole 7: Yubin Jang (Iron Heads GC), Danny Lee (Iron Heads GC), Wade Ormsby (Iron Heads GC)
• Hole 8: Tyrrell Hatton (Legion XIII), Caleb Surratt (Legion XIII), Tom McKibbin (Legion XIII)
• Hole 9: Ben Campbell (Rangegoats GC), Matthew Wolff (Rangegoats GC), Peter Uihlein (Rangegoats GC)
• Hole 10: Brendan Steele (Hyflyers GC), Cameron Tringale (Hyflyers GC), Andy Ogletree (Hyflyers GC)
• Hole 11: Patrick Reed (4Aces GC), Harold Varner III (4Aces GC), Thomas Pieters (4Aces GC)
• Hole 12: Richard Bland (Cleeks GC), Frederik Kjettrup (Cleeks GC), Adrian Meronk (Cleeks GC)
• Hole 13: Charles Howell III (Crushers GC), Paul Casey (Crushers GC), Anirban Lahiri (Crushers GC)
• Hole 14: Henrik Stenson (Majesticks GC), Sam Horsfield (Majesticks GC), Lee Westwood (Majesticks GC)
• Hole 15: Jason Kokrak (Smash GC), Graeme McDowell (Smash GC), Talor Gooch (Smash GC)
• Hole 16: Dean Burmester (Stinger GC), Charl Schwartzel (Stinger GC), Branden Grace (Stinger GC)
• Hole 17: Lucas Herbert (Ripper GC), Matt Jones (Ripper GC), Marc Leishman (Ripper GC)
• Hole 18: Bryson DeChambeau (Crushers GC), Jon Rahm (Legion XIII), Anthony Kim (Crushers GC)