No players have publicly signed on and officials haven’t even revealed the name of the start-up super league but the circuit’s front man Greg Norman unveiled key additions to its leadership team on Friday.
Norman – who took over as CEO of LIV Golf Investments, the group that’s behind the proposed new tour – named Sean Bratches and Ron Cross chief commercial officer and chief events officer, respectively.
Cross spent the last three decades in various leadership positions with the PGA Tour and Augusta National, where he led the club’s grow-the-game efforts. More telling is Cross’ resume while working for the Tour, where he ran many of the circuit’s marquee events, including the Tour Championship, World Golf Championships and the Presidents Cup.
“To be a small part of a significant change in the way golf is played and enjoyed while continuing to make a positive impact on the communities we play in is another dream come true for me,” Cross said in a statement.
Bratches’ resume also fits with the new circuit’s disrupter image. Along with nearly 30 years at ESPN in sales and marketing he helped revitalize Formula 1.
The super-league concept remains a closely guarded secret but the general idea is to attract the game’s best players with rich purses and guaranteed payouts to a Formal 1-style tour that would feature both a team and individual format.
