US Senate asks governor of Saudi wealth fund to testify over LIV-PGA merger

The powerful governor of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed investment fund has been invited to testify before a Senate committee in the wake of a proposed merger between Saudi-backed LIV Tour and the PGA, raising the possibility the executive could be questioned under oath about issues ranging from the future of golf to the execution of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was invited to testify on July 11 by the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, whose chairman, Democratic senator Dick Blumenthal, is one of the toughest critics of Saudi on Capitol Hill.

Jay Monahan, the PGA commissioner, and LIV Golf League chief executive and commissioner Greg Norman, were also invited to testify.

The proposed merger of LIV Tour and PGA, which also involves the DP World Tour, has received a frosty reception on Capitol Hill, where it is facing questions not only from Blumenthal, but also the Senate finance committee. The call for Rumayyan to testify at a hearing, however, marks a new twist.

In a public statement, Blumenthal said the purpose of the hearing was to examine the proposed agreement between the PGA and the PIF.

“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.

“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.”

But it is far from clear whether Rumayyan will ultimately agree to