A Senate subcommittee has issued invites to the three key figures of the proposed PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger to testify on Capitol Hill next month, including mending PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
Also invited by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are LIV CEO and frontman Greg Norman as well as Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The date: July 11.
Committee chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has been saber-rattling ever since the proposed alliance was announced two weeks ago. The committee ranking member is Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
“Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information, and they owe Congress — and the American people — answers in a public setting.”
Today I am officially inviting the PGA Tour Commissioner, LIV Golf CEO, & Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor to testify in front of my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. We need to get to the bottom of the planned agreement between the PGA & Saudi-funded LIV Golf. pic.twitter.com/FlYD4vpmCh
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) June 21, 2023
Monahan has been recovering from an undisclosed medical situation since last week and has stepped away from day-to-day operations of the PGA Tour. It’s unclear what his status will be by July 11.
Monahan, Norman and Al-Rumayyan all were sent letters Wednesday and asked to provide a written statement for the hearing and prepare a five-minute opening statement.
Also, The U.S. Department of Justice notified the PGA Tour last week that it will investigate the circuit’s planned alliance with the Saudi group funding LIV Golf over antitrust worries.
That came a day after U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged the DOJ to review the merger. Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, also notified PGA Tour executives last week that his committee will be opening an investigation.
–Field Level Media
