LIV Golf Hires New Chief Operating Officer

Lawrence J. Burian comes to the Saudi-backed league from the Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation.

LIV Golf has hired a new Chief Operating Officer nearly one year after its original COO left his position after the league’s inaugural season. Lawrence J. Burian, a former executive at Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation, will now oversee LIV’s 2024 schedule execution, investor relations and team management. 

During his 12-year tenure at MSG, Burian worked closely with the management teams of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. The new LIV executive was present at the league’s team championship event in Miami, where Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC took home the title. 

LIV Golf's new COO, Lawrence J. Burian :: Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf

“Lawrence is a proven leader and a proven winner, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him on our executive leadership team,” LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said. “After more than two years of breaking molds and pushing boundaries, LIV Golf is on the precipice of significant growth. Lawrence’s decades of business experience are exactly what we need to keep us competitive and moving forward.”

Burian, who attended Yeshiva University in New York, is also a Yale Law School graduate and specialized in mergers and acquisitions as an associate at the firm of Davis Polk & Wardell. LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are nearing a Dec. 31 deadline for the completion of negotiations surrounding the framework agreement between the two tours. 

“I am excited to join LIV Golf as Chief Operating Officer and look forward to harnessing my more than two decades of senior executive experience to help build on the progress and momentum that is well underway,” Burian said.

Atul Khosla, the former COO, departed from LIV Golf after just one season in the role, where he reported to Norman. Since then, the position had not been filled. Gary Davidson has served as LIV’s interim COO.