Saudi Arabia is ready to put money into golf.
The cooperation agreement of the PGA tour speaks volumes. Illustration picture. EPA / AOP
Member of the PGA Tour Board of Golf Jimmy Dunne answered questions in the US Senate on Tuesday about cooperation with the Saudi Arabian investment fund PIF.
The PGA has entered into a cooperation agreement with the PIF, which the PGA tour matches with Saudi Arabia’s own tour, the LIV.
The US Senate wanted to know what role the Saudi Arabian government is playing in all of this. PIF is a fund managed by the government of Saudi Arabia, headed by the country’s crown prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Dunne was asked how much money the PIF gives to the PGA. Dunne initially answered that a lot, after which he was asked to elaborate.
– It is more than a billion dollars, he said According to NBC.
Dunne added that the PGA Tour still decides where and how much money is spent. of the PGA Ron Price told a Senate hearing that the tour’s revenue today is about $1.3 billion.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal noted that many of the star players on the PGA Tour have been tour loyalists. LIV tour manager Greg Norman has previously revealed that Tiger Woods refused ten billion dollars and did not want to go to Saudi Arabia to play.
– Tiger Woods stood strong and I hope the PGA tour will do the same, Blumenthal stated.
Dunne denied that a cooperation agreement had already been concluded. According to him, the PGA and LIV have “reached an agreement on the agreement in order to enter into an agreement”.
The story continues after the picture.
Jimmy Dunne responded in the Senate. PDO
You can still cancel
The collaboration has received a lot of criticism and it really stirred up the golf world.
Recently, a 2021 report by the US federal police, the FBI, linking Saudi Arabia to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has also been highlighted.
“If anyone had the slightest connection to the attack on our country or the murder of my friends, I would be the last person to sit at the table with them,” Dunne said.
Blumenthal pointed out that Price and Dunne still have a chance to stand up against sports laundering and defend the United States.
– Something stinks on this path of yours, because this is surrender.
The story continues after the picture.
Richard Blumenthal ripped PGA Tour executives. PDO
The board member resigned
PGA Tour Political Council Executive Board Member Randall Stephenson resigned from his position last Saturday.
He has served on the board since 2012, but resigned and expressed serious concerns about cooperation with PIF.
Stephenson said in his resignation letter that he could not in good conscience support the cooperation agreement.
– I hope that the government will rethink its government model and keep its options open when evaluating alternative sources of capital.