The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations wants Yasir Al-Rumayyan (shown), governor of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, to testify at a July 11 hearing regarding the proposed LIV Golf-PGA Tour alliance. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI |
License Photo
June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. senators invited executives from the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Saudi Public Investment Fund to testify as part of a hearing, examining the parties' agreement to join forces, the elected officials said Wednesday.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., members of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued the invitations in emailed letters to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman and Saudi Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
The hearing is planned for 10 a.m. EDT July 11 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. The senators said they will examine the future of the "Saudi-funded LIV Golf and professional golf in the United States."
Representatives from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the hearing. The senators requested confirmations of in-person appearances by June 28.
The PGA Tour, LIV Golf and Europe's DP World Tour on June 6 announced plans to merge forces and create a new golf venture, potentially ending two years of legal battles, player disagreements and suspensions.
The Saudis' Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV Golf and is valued at more than $600 billion, plans to combine its golf-related commercial businesses and rights with those of the other tours into a "collectively owned, for-profit entity."
A PGA Tour spokeswoman told UPI in July that the Department of Justice was investigating the PGA Tour for anti-competitive behavior in connection to LIV Golf.
Last week, the PGA Tour said that it remained "confident" in the new venture, despite the ongoing federal probe.
"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 a statement.
"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."
Blumenthal, the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced June 12 that he opened an investigation into the proposed alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. He called on the parties to submit records and communications to the subcommittee.
Days later, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, announced another investigation into the PGA Tour-LIV Golf agreement.
In another letter sent to the PGA Tour, Wyden said he wanted answers about the potential implications for data privacy, national security and censorship issues, conflict of interest and tax compliance.
Monahan -- who continues to receive criticism from players because of his previous negative comments about of LIV Golf -- announced June 14 that he was going on indefinite leave from the PGA Tour to recuperate from an undisclosed "medical situation."
PGA Tour chief operating officer Ron Price and executive vice president and president Tyler Dennis are leading day-to-day operations amid Monahan's hiatus.
The PGA Tour season will continue this week with the Travelers Championship. The tournament will be held from Thursday through Sunday at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.
The next LIV Golf tournament will be held from June 30 to July 2 at Real Club Valderrama in Cadiz, Spain.
