Merger of LIV Golf and PGA Tour
US Congress interferes in Saudi sports offensive
06/13/2023, 07:13 am
The PGA and LIV golf series are to be merged, and Saudi Arabia is buying up the sport. That displeases many: athletes, 9/11 victims’ families – and the US Congress doesn’t just accept it like that. He initiates investigations.
The spectacular merging of the US PGA Tour and the DP World Tour with the highly controversial Saudi series LIV Golf has now also got the US Congress on the scene. At the beginning of the week, the “Standing Subcommittee for Investigations of the Senate” initiated an investigation into the process and requested the PGA and LIV to provide specific information within a period of 14 days.
“The investigation is the key to assessing the possible risk of the Saudi Arabian government taking control of a valued American institution,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Standing Subcommittee, on the policy investigation: “I expect the PGA and LIV information on how this agreement with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund came about and how the new organization will be structured and will operate. We are therefore requesting records, documents and other evidence of important facts.”
Surprise alliance splits
The PGA, DP World Tour on the one hand and LIV Golf on the other had come together unexpectedly a week ago after a year-long dispute over the Saudis’ alleged sports washing to distract from human rights violations. With the almost sensational agreement between the so unequal partners, all disputes between the two camps ended in court.
Announcing their surprise alliance, the organizations involved will create a “joint, for-profit enterprise to ensure that everyone involved benefits from a model that offers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.”
The introduction of the LIV Tour 2022 had divided the golf world. The highly controversial series was financed by Saudi Arabia with astronomical sums of millions. The US PGA Tour excluded professionals who competed in competitive competition. This also included the German ex-world number one Martin Kaymer.
In letters to the leaders of the PGA and LIV, Blumenthal also expressly pointed out Saudi Arabia’s “deeply disturbing” handling of human rights as a trigger for his investigations: “Saudi Arabia uses investments in sport to pursue strategic goals of its government .”