The two-year battle between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf has come to an end with the shocking announcement that the archrivals are now joining forces – a news that has been met with disapproval by many US commentators, lawmakers and golf fans. laugh at.
The decision, announced Tuesday, ends a scramble for golf’s best player and prompts a sea change on the PGA Tour, which in previous lawsuits has accused Saudi Arabia of offering players “astronomical sums of money… .. LIV players and the game of golf erase the recent history of Saudi atrocities.”
It also ended pending litigation between the two organizations. The agreement includes that DP World Tour — also known as the PGA European Tour — will combine the commercial operations and rights of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf into a new, as yet unnamed, for-profit company.
Founded in 2021 with the aim of becoming the world’s premier professional golf tour, LIV Golf is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – an initiative funded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It controls a sovereign wealth fund with a scale of up to 600 billion U.S. dollars. It lured some of golf’s biggest stars from the PGA Tour with lucrative salaries, prompting antitrust lawsuits with U.S. organizations.
“The game of golf is better than what we’re doing today,” PGA Commissioner Jay Monaghan said in an interview with CNBC after the news broke.
Many people disagree verbally.
“This is Saudi Arabia buying the PGA Tour,” sports talk show host Rich Eisen said on the radio after hearing the news.
“The hypocrisy is evident. The PGA Tour took Saudi money after two years of sensationalism,” North Carolina-based sports reporter Pat Welter tweeted. “They sold their souls to #LIVGolf and what really cost them is control. Because whoever signs the check always wins.”
USA TODAY sports columnist Christine Brennan called the move a “total failure of the PGA Tour. Just a horrible turnaround” and said the organization “succumbs to Saudi hard-earned money. PGA The tour is now in the sports cleaning business.”
U.S. golfer Tiger Woods reacts on the 9th green during day 2 of the 150th British Open at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, July 15, 2022.
Glenn Kirk | AFP | Getty Images
Social media is full of self-proclaimed golf fans vowing never to watch the PGA Tour again.Even golf legend Tiger Woods, who previously turned down an invitation to the LIV Tour Could have earned him over $700 millionwho criticized the Saudi coalition before announcing the merger, said late last year that an “endless money pit” was not the way to “create a legacy”.
“Shameless money grab”
Members of Congress are also involved.
“Hypocrisy doesn’t begin to describe this brazen, shameless cash grab. I’m going to dig into every part of the Saudi Arabia-PGA deal,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote on Twitter. “US officials need to consider whether a deal would give the Saudi regime inappropriate control or access to U.S. real estate.”
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote in a Twitter thread, “Strange. PGA officials were in my office a few months ago talking about how the Saudis’ human rights record should disqualify them from a major US sport. I thought maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”
CNBC has reached out to the PGA Tour for comment.
Saudi Arabia has long been criticized for its human rights record, which includes the imprisonment and execution of dissidents, mass beheadings, the imposition of severe punishments such as the death penalty for members of the LGBT community, and the high-profile murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Saudi agents.
The kingdom has been pushing an aggressive campaign to boost its image as a reformed, socially liberalized nation as part of the crown prince’s Vision 2030 – an ambitious multi-trillion-dollar plan to In modernizing the country and ending dependence on oil revenues.
Still, the campaign to get arrested for speech continues.
“Best Sports Wash”
Human rights group Amnesty International called the merger “sports shuffle at its finest” and said “we must not let this announcement overshadow Saudi Arabia’s brutal human rights record.”
Families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks offered further criticism through 9/11 Family United, which the PGA Tour previously cited in its attack on LIV Golf.
“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan singled out the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s clear agreement that the Saudi LIV program was nothing more than a sporting baptism of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” the group said in a statement Tuesday. “But now the PGA and Monaghan seem to have turned into higher-earning Saudi shillings.”
A demonstrator dressed as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (centre) with blood on his hands protests outside the Saudi embassy in Washington, October 8, 2018, demanding justice for missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi justice.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were from Saudi Arabia, and U.S. officials concluded that Saudi nationals helped finance the terrorist group Al Qaeda, although the investigation found no involvement of Saudi officials in the attack.
CNBC reached out to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington and the Saudi foreign ministry for comment. The Saudi government has generally denied allegations of human rights violations and said its actions were aimed at national security and stability.
“Great potential to enhance the game of golf”
Not everyone is angry about the deal.
Professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, an early recruit on the LIV Tour, told CNN that the merger “is the best thing that could happen to golf and I’m very proud to be part of it.” A member of the . . . end game of golf victory.”
In response to 9/11 Families United’s statement, DeChambeau said of the Saudis, “What they’re trying to do…is be a better ally…they’re trying to serve the world Do good things and shine in the long gone light, no one is perfect, but we all try to improve our lives.”
Another member of the LIV Tour, professional golfer Phil Mickelson, responded to the news on Twitter, saying “great day today”.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the G20 leaders summit via video conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 30, 2021.
Royal Court of Saudi Arabia | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
“PIF’s capital injection demonstrates a strong commitment to growing and promoting the game of golf globally,” investment banking firm Jefferies wrote in a note Tuesday. PIF’s investment figures have not been made public.
In a memo to players obtained by CNBC, Monahan called the deal “a transformational agreement” and said “through PIF’s co-investment, the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competition The immeasurable power not only remains the same, but is enhanced for the future.”
The board of directors of the new commercial entity will include PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as Chairman and Monahan as Chief Executive Officer.
Saudi PIF on mission
Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo poses with a jersey after signing with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr Football Club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 30 December 2022.
Al Nassr Football Club/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Saudi Arabia has also lured football legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to play in the local league in contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and is expected to bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Professional golfer Rory McElroy was among those who refused to join LIV, which is battling the PGA Tour, calling the Saudi venture a “money grab.” But sports analysts point out that McElroy now also works for LIV — like every pro on the PGA Tour, many of whom ESPN said only learned of the merger via Twitter.
— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.