LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil Talks First Month on the Job

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It is your first month on the job, so I just want to start off by asking you, how are you going to do things differently from your predecessor.

I'm not sure it's about doing things differently, but I will tell you that we have this motto we've been talking through. It's long Live Golf, and we are celebrating the game of golf. We're celebrating the opportunity that we're in a business that's growing, with a fandom that's actually growing and increasing, which is incredible and inspiring. We have this kickoff right here or tee off to our season in Riad, which is a showcase of showcases. We have

So talk to me about why you brought the tournament to Reod. This is the actual first tournament, live tournament to end redd you mentioned Backstreet book, But how is this going to appeal to the broader audience?

Well, first off, live is very different from a golf tournament that you might have experienced and may have known.

We bring the fund to the game.

And so if you were here with us, which I hope you are next year, you would find an incredible fan zone which is teaming with families and interactive VR and AR games. There's a bit of a carnival. We have incredible food trucks, there's music in a stage where you have incredible DJs and bands like the Backstreet Boys coming on tonight. And then you have the best golfers in the world, and so we want to bring them to the four Corners of the world.

And in Riad you.

Have one of the most important cities in the world.

And so this is the center.

Yeah, and we're thrilled to be here.

Yeah. Well, many of our viewers watching this interview will be interested to see where the discussions with the PGA are going. And we know that the PGA Tour Commissioner actually did go to the White House yesterday. He had a meeting with President Chump and on the back of that meeting he did say that Trump has brought PGA closer to a deal with Live. Well, well, speaking to you right now, what is the status of those conversations. How close are we in reality.

To a deal?

You know, we have been four of and about growing the game of golf, and there are so many new and exciting leaders. If you look at Derek Sprague at PGA of America and Mark Darbin at the RNA, and I'm new at Live and I know the PGA is looking for a new executive as well to work alongside Jay, and I think that provides an opportunity for us all to take a step back, appreciate where we are in

Have you spoken to the President directly yourself?

I have not known.

In a few weeks, we'll be in Miami playing at Doral, which is a trump course, and I imagine he'll make an appearance there. But you know, in these first thirty days, I've had the time of a life time in my life getting to know these incredible stars like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson and Bryson d. Chambeau. We have the

Now, I know you're not in position to give us the contours of the deal, but is it your expectation that if a deal does come to fruition, that it would allow for more coexistence between live players and the PGA Tour. Is it your expectation that ultimately live players could participate in the PGA Tour without being penalized.

You know, our focus right now is on making sure we put the take the best players in the world to the best locations in the world. It's a deal and a construct that we've all been working on for some time, and we're all focused on the same goals and objectives, and that is to grow this game, put as many of the greatest players on the biggest stages

Yeah, I want of recent developments. Earlier this week at the US Open, became the first major to actually create an exemption for live goal players. Do you expect other majors to follow suits as well?

You know, very appreciative of Mike Wan and his leadership at the us GA.

We heard today.

From Mark Darbin, who runs the RNA and the Open Championship, and they will be following suit, and at least the early conversations with Derek Sprague at the PGA of America are are very.

Positive as well.

So it seems as if the headwinds are becoming tailwinds. There seems to be this incredible arc of momentum. And whether that's you know, our deal with Fox in the US, or our deal with I t V in the UK, or all the incredible partners we've had. Madden is our title partner here and Barri just came on board as well and Ros So we're starting to get momentum in terms of the entire business. So it's it's it's it's quite expected in terms of where we're heading.

Yeah, you mentioned some of those broadcasting arrangements and obviously the p IF have have put in billions into live revenues. A big question mark from here onwards to what extent do you think those types of broadcasting, those arrangements are all going to be additive to your future revenue flow.

You know, I'm here for one reason, and that's because spending time with his Excellency Yasser al Romayan is a man of vision and compassion, passion for the game of golf. He's got incredible love and understanding of what's to come and the investment to put this many incredible star players together will result in an incredible business. And so the foundational years have been built and now we're ready to grow this business. So it's a it's a really special moment in time right now.

Yeah, beyond broadcasting arrangements, what are your priorities for growth from here onwards?

Well, there are different parts of the business. You know, we're a bit different from a traditional golf and that we have teams and so Bryson D. Chambeau, for example, has a team called the Crushers. Kopka has a team called Smash.

Phil Nicholson has the high Flyers.

So you have different teams, Dustin Johnson, the Aces. So for us, one part is how do we build value in those teams, and a lot of that will be driven through sponsorship and merchandise. On the league side, it's a pretty traditional model. You know, it's broadcast and sponsorship and then event revenue, which are ticket and hospitalities. So it's a pretty similar business to what I'm accustomed to in the US sports and we're looking to build on the foundation that we have already.

And on the talent side, do you have any plans to bring in any new star players to the Live League?

Well, we have a bit of a constellation of stars. Now I mentioned a few before, but Waco'neman is another one. Terrll Hatton might be the hottest golfer in the world, and we signed three of the top five talented players in the world to come on this year. So for us, we have a constellation of stars. You don't have to look too much further than our leader board to see what's happening.

And it's a very special time.

I want to ask you about other jurisdictions. Obviously we started off the interview speaking about the PGA, but I'm curious to see whether you've set your sights on expansion in Europe as well. A couple of months ago, Bloomberg reported that you were considering a partnership or a tie up with the DP World Tour. Can you elaborate on that, or at least on some of your European expansion goals.

I very much appreciate your homework and your questions and your diligence. It's very difficult to, as you can imagine, to talk about ongoing negotiations or not in all of these leagues or aspects DP World Tour. It's been well documented. We have some work to do together, and we'll work on that and make sure we make good headway. In the meantime, you know, we have an incredible event at Valderrama which will be amazing in Spain, and then at JCB in the UK, and so we're well entrenched in Europe.

Well, let me just.

Put the questions to you then. If we were having this interview in a year's time, what would you deem as a marker of your success. What are the achievables that you would like to get to over the next twelve to eighteen months.

I imagine you don't mean just a good night's sleep and a happy smile, but that'll be the result of a lot of positive momentum going forward. We have a wonderful team here working very hard, so I would certainly like to see increases in our viewership in the US and around the world. We actually are in almost eight hundred million homes around the world in eight hundred countries and territories, and so how we're penetrating that how many viewers is very important.

I'd like to see the game of golf continue to grow.

That's one of our core attributes in terms of how we and KPIs how we look at this is can we help grow the game of golf? And then from a revenue standpoint, I have some very aggressive goals and targets that we are very focused on in terms of sponsorship and tickets, and so i'd imagine if a year from now, I imagine I'd be having a big smile after a very good night's sleep talking about some very successful wins.

Yeah, do you think the world of golf is doing enough to attract the younger audience these days, Well.

You don't have to look too much further than our events. I mean, it is so much fun to come here, so I think I do. Our teams and our stars are so engaged in the communities. We put so many incredible events on to engage the local community around the world. But more importantly, if you cannot help but have fun when you step on site. This is not like walking into a library. This is quite more like going to an event with your friends. There's music, and there's action,