"Senate Subcommittee: PIF Exclusively Engaged in Talks with PGA to Prevent Disclosure"
A report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations alleged that the Saudi Public Investment Fund engaged in talks with the PGA Tour solely due to the possibility of being exposed in their antitrust lawsuit.
The report, which was released on Friday, detailed the subcommittee's discoveries from an examination into the June 2023 "framework agreement" for a merger between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the PIF's golf assets, specifically LIV Golf.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who chairs the PSI, expressed concern about "the involvement of the Saudi government in influencing this effort and the potential risks of a foreign government entity taking control of an esteemed American institution."
However, the subcommittee's investigation dates back even further to before the surprising announcement, when LIV Golf was pursuing legal action against the PGA Tour for denying golfers the opportunity to play on both tours.
"The subcommittee's inquiry revealed that discussions about a potential agreement between the PIF and the PGA Tour began with a renewed effort from a PIF representative on April 14, 2023," the report stated. "One of the key terms of the initial Framework Agreement between the PIF and the PGA Tour was the dismissal, with prejudice, of the ongoing litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour."
"On April 7, 2023, a judge in the Northern District of California had ruled in that case that the PIF and its Governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, were subject to discovery and depositions by the PGA Tour's lawyers. This deposition would have likely exposed details about the PIF's operations and Governor al-Rumayyan's control over its commercial investments."
Blumenthal also wrote that "U.S. defenses are insufficient in safeguarding against increasingly sophisticated attempts at foreign influence by Saudi Arabia and other malicious actors, and revealed loopholes in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that allow foreign governments to evade accountability."
It has been reported that the PGA Tour and the PIF have been negotiating for some time, although the PGA Tour has since secured additional funding for its new for-profit venture, PGA Tour Enterprises, from a group of sports owners and investors known as Strategic Sports Group.
In recent weeks, the PGA Tour and LIV have met with President Donald Trump, but no significant progress has been made in the discussions.
