As the PGA Tour heads to Connecticut this week for the Travelers Championship, a senator from that state said on national television that he thinks a congressional hearing on the proposed deal between the Tour and the Saudi Arabia-backed Public Investment Fund could take place within a matter of a few weeks.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that a subcommittee he leads is digging deeper into the potential deal.
According to a release from the Tour, PIF will make an investment into the unnamed new entity “to facilitate its growth and success” and will initially be the exclusive investor alongside the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. PIF will also have the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any new capital that may be invested in the entity.
The PGA Tour is expected to appoint a majority of the board and hold a majority voting interest in the new entity if the deal goes through. The board of directors of the new entity was expected to include PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as chairman and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan as chief executive officer, although it’s uncertain how a recent health scare for Monahan could impact the organization.
Blumenthal told CBS’s Robert Costa he thinks the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations could press for a hearing sometime soon.
“I think a hearing is possible within weeks. The American people deserve a clear look at the facts here. Again, not prejudging what the conclusions will be,” Blumenthal said. “But, what the Saudis are doing here is not taking control of a single team or hiring one player. They are, in effect, taking charge of the entire sport and it’s not just a Saudi individual. It is the regime.”
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf officially motioned to drop their respective legal cases against each other last week, signaling what may be the beginning to the end of a lengthy battle in court that lasted nearly a year.
On the Senate investigation into the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger, @SenBlumenthal says “any of the tools at our disposal, including subpoenas and hearings, recommendations for action and legislation are all on the table.”
A Senate hearing “is possible within weeks,” he adds. pic.twitter.com/joleSaibrd
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 18, 2023
On Friday both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf voluntarily dismissed all claims against each other, with prejudice, meaning the claims previously made in the two lawsuits can’t be refiled or pursued. According to Friday’s filing, “all parties bear their own fees and costs.”
Blumenthal said he was concerned about the potential deal, which could combine many of professional golf’s main forces. The U.S. Department of Justice was already investing the Tour for antitrust behavior.
“There’s a real risk to American interests in the Saudis taking over this American institution. We want to get to the bottom of it,” he said.