LIV Golf 'Is Not Going Anywhere' After PGA Tour Merger, Greg Norman Says

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman doesn't expect the invitational series to disappear entirely amid its proposed merger with the PGA Tour.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach spoke with a LIV Golf official who shared the message Norman communicated to fellow employees during a recent teleconference.

"We know the big picture," the official said. "We don't know the details because this is the beginning of the [merger and acquisition] process. There's just a lot to be worked through in the coming weeks. I think a lot of our questions will be answered ... but the big picture, LIV is not going anywhere."

Tuesday's announcement sent shockwaves across the sports world. A merger was always a potential conclusion to the ongoing battle between LIV and the PGA Tour, but there were no signs that the two sides were working toward a partnership.

The PGA Tour even kept its own golfers in the dark.

Questions almost immediately arose about what this merger will look like in practice. Not to mention, legal experts are wondering whether the deal will clear the necessary legal hurdles.

Influential figures within LIV Golf will occupy important roles within the new PGA/LIV joint venture. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, will at the very least serve as the chairman.

However, one could argue LIV Golf has effectively served its purpose. The breakaway series simply doesn't have a ton of standalone value or prestige. Even after signing many of golf's top stars, LIV's events struggled to garner much of a following.

Schlabach reported that people "at the highest levels of the sport don't seem convinced that the LIV Golf League will have a seat at the table in the sport's new global ecosystem." He added that Norman may be excluded from the final framework as well.

That's not to say some of the innovations and structure pioneered by LIV Golf would go away altogether. Based on Tuesday's announcement, the team concept is going nowhere, so it would make sense to retain LIV's individual team branding.

But keeping LIV Golf as a standalone product doesn't make a ton of sense when merging with the PGA Tour basically eliminates the need for a competing circuit.