US government prepares to look into LIV-PGA merger amid sportswashing claims

The leader of a US Senate subcommittee is demanding the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf present records about the negotiations that led to their planned merger.

Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, sent letters on Monday to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV CEO Greg Norman.

“While few details about the agreement are known, PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raise serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Monahan.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will pour huge sums – confirmed by its governor, Yasir al-Rumuyyan, as running into billions – into a newly formed entity to run top-tier golf. The PIF has assets of more than $700bn and will lead efforts to move Saudi Arabia on from its reliance on its oil assets.

Blumenthal, who is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said he also wanted to hear the tour’s plans to retain its tax-exempt status.