(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Senator Richard Blumenthal is not going to be in the language of wood during his hearing this Tuesday by the American Congress, in the investigation opened on the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.
According to the text of his introduction, obtained in preview by the American media Golf Digest, this new alliance shows, according to him, how a “brutal and repressive regime can buy influence – and even take control – of a cherished American institution, simply to clean up its public image”.
Liv Golf, situation
The US Senate hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, is simply titled “PGA-LIV Agreement: Implications for the Future of Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Influence in the United States”.
It is part of the Congressional investigation opened following the announcement of a merger, on June 6, between the PGA Tour and the PIF, creator and funder of the alternative circuit LIV Golf (14 dates this year).According to Senator Richard Blumenthal, “Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf.
It’s about how a brutal and repressive regime can buy influence – and even take control – of a cherished American institution, just to clean up its public image. A regime that has killed journalists, imprisoned and tortured dissidents, encouraged war in Yemen and supported other terrorist activities, including 9/11.
»”We hope that today’s hearing will help us to not only uncover the reasons for the PGA Tour’s sudden U-turn and what it means for golf, but also to understand what similar investments from governments deep-pocketed authoritarians could mean for our country, for our national security, and for the world,” this introductory note concludes.The PGA Tour is an organization that curates major professional golf tours in the United States.
It is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida. Its official name is written in all capital letters, i.e. “PGA TOUR”.The PGA Tour became its own organization in 1968 when it split from the PGA of America, which is now primarily an association of golf professionals, such as instructors and club managers. Tournament players first formed their own organization, the Ass
