US Senate opens investigation into PGA-LIV Golf deal

The golf world was shellshocked earlier this month when the PGA Tour abruptly decided to partner with the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Tour, which had picked off a number of top players on the PGA Tour by granting them hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases. Now, the competitors will join forces, which drew the watchful eye of the United States Government, particularly the Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs.

That committee has an even smaller committee inside it called the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which investigates operations that feature risk on a national scale. As of Monday, the LIV-PGA merger is directly on their radar.

The subcommittee sent documents to LIV CEO Greg Norman alerting him that they are reviewing the planned agreement between the sides and will also review the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which now owns both the LIV and PGA. Per the document, the PIF is a $700 billion investment fund ran under the watch of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who is, essentially, second in command to the king.

“PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raise serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement,” stated the subcommittee’s document.

Given that the PIF is overseen by very top members of Saudi leadership, the subcommittee is concerned with the true interest here, noting that the agreement “raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution.” Plus, the subcommittee notes the PIF has indicated it plans to use the PGA and other sports investments to advance the government’s causes.

Everyone knows by now, the Saudi Arabian government does not play by basic moralities practiced in the United States and having them in such a position of power in a prominent and multi-billion dollar sport on U.S. soil concerns folks in Washington. So, the U.S. government is launching an investigation, and as part of it, they’re requesting the following:

Note: Monahan is the PGA commissioner and Al-Rumayyan governs the PIF

1. All records referring or relating to the relationship between LIV Golf and PGA Tour, including but not limited to all communications referring or relating to the Agreement.
2. All records referring or relating to the Agreement, including but not limited to all internal or external communications related to the possibility of entering the Agreement, and all records related to the structure of the “new, collectively owned, for-profit entity” to be formed by the Agreement.
3. All records referring or relating to any dispute between LIV Golf, PIF, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and PGA Tour or Jay Monahan.

This saga definitely doesn’t seem close to over. The golf headlines could get pretty messy this summer.