US Senate panel examines PGA Tour-LIV Golf tie-up, Saudi involvement

WASHINGTON :Two PGA Tour officials went before a Senate panel on Tuesday to defend the U.S.-based golf organization's decision to end a rivalry with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit and form a unified commercial entity.

PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne are to testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Senator Richard Blumenthal, the panel's chair, and Ron Johnson, its top Republican.

"Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf," Blumenthal said in opening remarks. "It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.

"A regime that has killed journalists, jailed and tortured dissidents, fostered the war in Yemen, and supported other terrorist activities," said the senator, who spoke of a feeling of "betrayal."

The LIV Golf series is bankrolled by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF). Critics have accused it of being a vehicle for the country to improve its reputation, or "sports-washing," as it faces criticism of its human rights record, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as its record on women's rights and gay rights.

The PGA Tour's agreement with Saudi-backed LIV has raised concerns in Washington from lawmakers who are mistrustful of the kingdom and critical of its human rights record. They are vowing to take a deep look into the deal.

Price said in an opinion piece published before the hearing that the agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV was not a merger, and that the PIF was a "non-controlling, minority investor." He did not say what percentage of the PGA Tour would be owned by