The heat is getting turned up in relation to the proposed partnership with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
On Wednesday the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations invited PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, LIV Golf League CEO and commissioner Greg Norman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to testify at a hearing on July 11. The invitation letter was sent by chairman of the subcommittee Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and ranking member Ron Johnson, R-Wisc.
“Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest,” Blumenthal said in the letter. “Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information, and they owe Congress — and the American people — answers in a public setting.”
Today I am officially inviting the PGA Tour Commissioner, LIV Golf CEO, & Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor to testify in front of my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. We need to get to the bottom of the planned agreement between the PGA & Saudi-funded LIV Golf. pic.twitter.com/FlYD4vpmCh
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) June 21, 2023
“Fans, the players, and concerned citizens have many questions about the planned agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf,” added Johnson. “I look forward to hearing testimony from the individuals who are in the best positions to provide insight to the public regarding the current state of professional golf. I hope that this hearing and any other role that Congress plays in this matter will be constructive.”
Both Tours and the PIF announced the framework of a new global golf entity two weeks ago, and both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Senate Finance Committee have announced investigations into the proposed deal, which still must be approved by the PGA Tour’s policy board.
As part of the framework for the new entity, both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf dropped all pending lawsuits last week, but the New York Times has motioned for all documents in both LIV’s claim and the Tour’s counterclaim to be unsealed due to the public’s First Amendment and common law rights to public records.