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Ron Price, chief operating officer of the PGA
Tour, and board member Jimmy Dunne are to testify before the
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Senator
Richard Blumenthal, chair of the committee, and Ron Johnson, the
top Republican.
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.
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 the
PIF own.
Saudi Arabia's PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, will be the
chairman of the new entity, called NewCo in the framework, while
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will serve as CEO.
Price said the PGA Tour would have a controlling interest in the
board.
Blumenthal has asked the PGA and LIV for communications and
records on their planned deal, citing concerns about the Saudi
government's role in the deal and risks posed by a foreign
government entity assuming control over the sport.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Frank Pingue in
Toronto; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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