PGA Tour logo in the course of the third round of the Travelers Championship on June 24, 2017, at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Fred Kfoury | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — A top Democratic lawmaker launched a probe on Monday into the planned merger of the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., requested details of the agreement between the 2 organizations, including how the brand new combined entity will operate in light of Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, in letters to PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
The letter from Blumenthal comes because the PGA Tour-LIV deal faces intense scrutiny and doubts about whether the merger might be accomplished, given the severity of prior claims within the golf leagues’ prior litigation against one another.
The Saudi government has been accused of wide-reaching human rights violations, including the orchestration of the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
9/11 Families United, a bunch representing the families of victims of the terrorist attack, also slammed the merger on account of Saudi Arabia’s involvement. Blumenthal has previously sided with victims’ families when one other organization, the 9/11 Justice group, protested a LIV event at a golf course owned by former President Donald Trump.
The June 6 merger announcement was a “sudden and drastic reversal of a position concerning LIV Golf,” wrote Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Everlasting Subcommittee on Investigations. The Tour and its commissioner had previously spoken out strongly against LIV and its role in skilled golf.
Meanwhile, the Saudi government’s Private Investment Fund, which owns LIV, had made clear plans to make use of investments in sports to further the Saudi government’s objectives, in response to Blumenthal’s letter.
“PGA Tour’s agreement with PIF regarding LIV Golf raises concerns concerning 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,” Blumenthal wrote.
Before the agreement to merge, PGA’s rivalry with LIV included legal motion between the 2. The entities agreed to squash all pending litigation as a part of their plan to mix industrial businesses and rights right into a yet-unnamed for-profit company.
Monahan told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday that the merger is a profit to the sport of golf despite prior “tensions.”
The agreement would require the approval of the PGA Tour policy board, in response to a memo to players from Monahan.
LIV Golf declined to comment on Blumenthal’s letters. PGA Tour didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Blumenthal asked for answers to several inquiries, including an overview of corporate structure and records of any disputes between the company heads and another stakeholders, by June 26.
– CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
