Global Courant
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Monday demanded to see reports from PGA officials, outlining the work that ended in the tour’s merger with Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.
Blumenthal, president of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigationssaid he fears the risks posed by the Saudi government taking control of a popular athletic pastime.
“PGA Tour’s agreement with PIF regarding LIV Golf raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks of a foreign government agency usurping control of a cherished US institution,” the statement wrote. legislator in a letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. .
Blumenthal appeared to be citing the PGA’s own words and deeds, prior to last week when the tour appeared to be at odds with LIV.
Just a year ago, Monahan famously said that every player associated with LIV should feel the shame of the world: “I would like to ask any player who has left, or who would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?
“PIF has announced its intention to use investment in sports to further the strategic objectives of the Saudi government,” said Blumenthal. It established LIV Golf Investments in 2021 to serve this purpose. Critics have cast such Saudi investments in sports as a means of ‘washing sports’ – an attempt to soften the country’s image around the world – considering Saudi “Arabia’s deeply troubling human rights record domestically and abroad. In fact, prior to this agreement, PGA Tour was one of the loudest critics of LIV Golf’s affiliation with Saudi Arabia.”
Blumenthal cited the PGA Tour’s tax-exempt status as his authority to demand documentation and responses from the organization.
A LIV representative declined to comment Monday, and a PGA Tour spokesperson was not immediately available.
The PGA Tour comes to Blumenthal State later this month for the Travelers Championship bee TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
Brooke Glatz contributed.
