US Senate panel rips into Saudi involvement in PGA Tour-LIV Golf tie-up
By Diane Bartz and Frank Pingue
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal tore into a «repressive» Saudi regime on Tuesday and called the PGA Tour's framework agreement with the country's Public Investment Fund an attempt by Saudi Arabia's government to «buy influence» in U.S. sports.
Blumenthal delivered his harsh criticism during a three-hour hearing where two PGA Tour officials testified about the U.S.-based circuit's framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which controls LIV Golf.
Saudi Arabia's PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, will be the chairman of the new entity, called NewCo in the framework, while PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will serve as CEO.
«Today's hearing is about much more than the game of golf,» said Blumenthal. «It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.
»A regime that has killed journalists, jailed and tortured dissidents, fostered the war in Yemen, and supported other terrorist activities," added Blumenthal, who spoke of a feeling of «betrayal.»
The Justice Department, which has been investigating the PGA Tour for trying to keep its players from defecting to LIV, could opt to sue to block the deal. It could also be reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, a Treasury-led committee that assesses mergers to determine whether they harm national security.
Critics have accused LIV Golf of being a vehicle for Saudi Arabia to improve its reputation, or «sports-washing,» as it faces criticism of its human rights record, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as its record on women's
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