The leaders of a Senate investigative subcommittee on Monday announced two PGA Tour officials as witnesses for a hearing next week on the organization’s merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hear testimony on July 11 from PGA Tour COO Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who chairs the subcommittee, and the panel’s ranking member, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a joint statement that they want to examine the planned deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as the future of the PGA Tour and professional golf in the US.
Last month, Blumenthal and Johnson requested testimony from LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi investment fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The senators said representatives for Norman and Al-Rumayyan have informed the subcommittee that they are unable to testify next week due to scheduling conflicts.
“We appreciate the PGA Tour working with us and look forward to a robust and thoughtful exchange with Ron Price and Jimmy Dunne on July 11, focusing on the details and background to this deal and what it means for this beloved American institution,” Blumenthal said. and Johnson said in the statement.
“We regret that Governor al-Rumayyan and Mr. Norman’s scheduling conflicts prevent them from attending the July 11 hearing,” they added. “Both Governor al-Rumayyan and Mr. Norman have valuable information to share about the operations of the Public Investment Fund, the future of LIV Golf, and Saudi Arabia’s plans to invest in golf and other sports. Consistent with our subcommittee practice, we look forward to working with both witnesses to find a mutually agreeable date for them to appear in the very near future.”
Joel Schuchmann, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of communications, said in a statement that the company is looking forward to the hearing to answer questions from senators “on the framework agreement that maintains the PGA TOUR as the leader of the future of professional golf and benefits our players, our fans and our sport”.
LIV Golf and the PIF did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf announced the unexpected and controversial merger last month.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced last month that he has opened an investigation into the planned merger. He is seeking input from PGA Tour leadership, from details about the deal’s framework to an assessment of the merger’s national security implications. in a letter to the address of the organization Announcing the investigation, Wyden wrote that the merger “raises important questions about whether organizations that tie themselves to an authoritarian regime that has continually undermined the rule of law should continue to enjoy tax-exempt status” in the US.
The investigation came after Wyden and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on the Justice Department to “closely examine” the planned merger, saying in a letter that the deal raises antitrust concerns and would help Saudi Arabia ” ‘launder the sport’ its appalling human rights record”.
