[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), demanded communications and records from PGA Tour and LIV Golf regarding their planned merger.
On June 6, 2023, PGA Tour announced that it had reached an agreement to combine its commercial businesses with LIV Golf, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, raising 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.”
In letters to both PGA Tour and LIV Golf today, Chair Blumenthal noted Saudi Arabia’s “deeply disturbing human rights record at home and abroad” and its stated intention to “use investments in sports to further the Saudi government’s strategic objectives.”
Chair Blumenthal is demanding information regarding how PGA Tour came to an agreement concerning LIV Golf and how any newly formed entity will be structured and operated, including how PGA Tour intends to preserve its tax-exempt status.
The full text of the letter to PGA Tour is available here. The full text of the letter to LIV Golf is available here.