The PGA Tour says it is being investigated by the Justice Department, apparently related to allegations of anti-competitive practices tied to its opposition to the new Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Series.
The PGA suspended the 17 PGA members who agreed to compete in the first LIV Golf International Series event back in June. The PGA confirmed its knowledge of the alleged DOJ investigation with the Washington Examiner on Monday.
“This was not unexpected,” said Joel Schuchmann, the senior vice president for communications with the PGA Tour. “We went through this in 1994, and we are confident in a similar outcome.”
The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into the PGA Tour in 1994, but commissioners voted 4-0 to end the investigation in 1995.
The new DOJ investigation was reported by the Wall Street Journal. The Justice Department declined to comment.
The news comes as President Joe Biden heads to Saudi Arabia this week.
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The LIV Golf Invitational announced a $2 billion investment in May, with money reportedly coming from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Saudi government’s massive sovereign wealth fund.
“We have a long-term vision and we’re here to stay,” Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf Investments, said in the announcement. “We’re going to grow the game, give more opportunities to players, and create a more entertaining product for fans.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has repeatedly defended the PGA’s decision.
“These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons,” Monahan said to PGA Tour members in June, according to ESPN. “But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you. That expectation disrespects you, our fans and our partners. You have made a different choice, which is to abide by the Tournament Regulations you agreed to when you accomplished the dream of earning a PGA TOUR card and — more importantly — to compete as part of the preeminent organization in the world of professional golf.”
Monahan told reporters later that month: “The PGA Tour, an American institution, can’t compete with a foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars in an attempt to buy the game of golf. … We welcome good, healthy competition. The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It’s an irrational threat, one not concerned with the return on investment or true growth of the game.”
Norman accused the PGA Tour of breaking the law in February, according to Golf Monthly.
“Simply put, your players enjoy the freedom under law to choose how they make a living. In our view and in the eyes of the law, the PGA Tour’s threats are utterly impermissible under competition and other laws,” he said.
In June, the group 9/11 Families United wrote a letter to golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, criticizing them for participating in the Saudi-backed golf venture.
“Our community wishes to express our outrage at your partnership with LIV Golf and remind you of the responsibility that your new business partner, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, shoulders for providing the financial support and logistical support that enabled the terrorists to attack our nation and kill our loved ones,” Terry Strada, the group’s national co-chairperson, said.
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Although Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks, the 9/11 victims’ families have pointed to links such as Omar al Bayoumi, said to have been a former Saudi intelligence officer, and Fahad al Thumairy, a former Saudi Consulate official who helped lead the King Fahd Mosque, who had contacts with Khalid al Mihdhar and Nawaf al Hazmi, two of the 15 Saudis among the 19 hijackers.
In June, Mickelson said, “I don’t condone human rights violations at all” but that “I’ve also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history, and I believe LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game of golf as well.”
