Saudi's LIV Golf Championship To Trump's Doral

The corrupt and reactionary Saudi regime's LIV Golf sportswashing enterprise will be moving this year's championship to the Trump National Doral Golf Club in October for the second straight year, ESPN reports. LIV and the PGA Tour recently announced a merger that has drawn the attention of anti-trust officials and the U.S. Senate's Permanent Committee on Investigations, which has scheduled a hearing on the sudden merger tomorrow. Families of victims killed in the 9-11 terrorist attack have blasted the LIV / PGA merger;  LIV is funded by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund controlled by corrupt Crown Prince Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman.

The Saudi regime is particularly close to the Malignant Loser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to whom they gave $2 billion for his investment fund apparently to thank him for his influence with the Malignant Loser. They have recently partnered with the Putin regime to suppress oil production, causing oil prices to surge, including just weeks before the 2022 mid-term elections.

BONUS:  A long-time member of the PGA policy board, Randall Stephenson, resigned Saturday citing "serious concerns" about the merger agreement.

(photo: Cliff Hawkins / Getty Images)

 

Senator Wants Records On PGA - LIV Merger

The chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has sent letters to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi-backed LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman asking for records regarding their new agreement / merger. The PGA dropped a bombshell last week when it announced it was dropping litigation against LIV Golf and had decided to form a new non-profit organization headed by the Saudi governor of its public investment fund Yasir Al-Rumayyan, controlled by sinister Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman. The Saudis have been accused of using LIV Golf and other forays into international sports in efforts to "sportswash" their terrible human rights record and their murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. From the Washington Post's account:

"In his letters to Monahan and Norman, Blumenthal wrote about the skepticism critics hold over the Saudis’ intent 'to use investments in sports to further the Saudi government’s strategic objectives.'

'Critics have cast such Saudi investments in sports as a means of “sportswashing” — an attempt to soften the country’s image around the world — given Saudi Arabia’s deeply disturbing human rights record at home and abroad,' the letter said.

Blumenthal asked for a sweeping set of documents — essentially all communications between LIV and the tour beginning in October 2021 through the present."  (our emphasis)

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is bankrolling the new arrangement, leading to major concerns that the arrangement occurred after the principals received large sums of money to enter into this agreement. The PGA players were not informed beforehand of the deal, after many had turned down lucrative offers to play in the Saudi-funded LIV tour. The arrangement may also trigger anti-trust action by the Federal government, given the scope of the control over professional golf worldwide. It's already prompted 9-11 memorial groups to condemn the deal with the Saudis, given the involvement of 18 Saudi nationals in the September 11, 2001 attack.

(photo: New golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and associate. AP)

 

Quotes Of The Day -- Hypocrisy And Greed

 

ICYMI, now that the murderous, repressive Saudi regime owns professional golf internationally:

 9/11 Families United is shocked and deeply offended by the newly announced merger between the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf league that is bankrolled by billions of sportswashing money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi operatives played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and now it is bankrolling all of professional golf.

“PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation. But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones. Make no mistake – we will never forget,” said 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. “Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now – as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed. Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf.”

If that wasn't enough, how can you really be sure the venal Jay Monahan and his supporters are on the wrong side of morality and history?  How about we hear from Dolt 45, who looks to cash in with his Saudi buddies, too:

“Great news from LIV Golf,” tweeted the 45th US president, who has hosted LIV events at his courses.  “A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. congrats to all!!!”

Yeah, congrats, you rats!

BONUS: Read Sally Jenkins' scathing article in the WaPo on the despicable deal.

PGA Sells Out To Sportswashing Saudi LIV "Golf"

 

 

This is a terrible, terrible day for anyone who follows golf, or anyone with a conscience for that matter:

PGA Tour will merge with rival LIV Golf, ending litigation and becoming a larger golf enterprise.

The agreement will combine the golf-related commercial businesses and rights of the Public Investment Fund, which includes LIV Golf, with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, to create a new “for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players,” according to a news release.

The agreement ends pending litigation between PGA Tour and LIV Golf. LIV Golf is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, which is controlled by the Saudi crown prince, according to CNBC. 

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, in a news release. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV — including the team golf concept — to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans.”

PGA Tour members allegedly found out about the news with the rest of the world. Wesley Bryan, who competed in the 2018 Masters Tournament, tweeted that the PGA Tour should be “ashamed.”...

You're damn right they should be ashamed.  After so many players opted to do the right thing and not cash in on the Saudi blood money being offered in the LIV tour, their organization betrayed them and all who despise the murderous Saudi regime of Mohammed "Bone Saw" bin Salman.  Like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods:

Earlier this year, the Human Rights Watch said that Saudi Arabia was attempting to cover up its human rights violations with LIV Golf, calling it “sportswash.” In 2022, Tiger Woods allegedly turned down $700 million to join the professional golf tour. Woods said he disagreed with players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. “I think that what they’ve done is they’ve turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position,” he said. 

Venal hack Monahan says this is an historic day, and it is, but not in the way he imagines.  What a disgusting, blood- money- worshipping POS.

BONUS:

 

“The PGA Tour has wimped out — let's just say what it is — and they've gone into business with the Saudis, the people who killed Jamal Khashoggi, the people responsible for 9/11. I am shocked.”

— @cbrennansports condemns the announced PGA-LIV Golf merger pic.twitter.com/kH1E47JoNS

— The Recount (@therecount) June 6, 2023

 

So, you preach loyalty to a tour and convince guys not to take 8 and 9 figure deals based, in part, on that loyalty and, in part, on the source of the money. Then those guys find out on Twitter YOU took the very same money?

Nino Brown, “Always business, never personal.”

— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) June 6, 2023

 

BONUS II:  As you might imagine, there are a lot of Twitter assholes (oxymoron) mocking PGA players for not taking the blood money and running.  Here's how certain classy, two- legged rats are taunting McIlroy --

BONUS III:  9/11 Families United has issued a blistering statement on Monahan's hypocrisy and betrayal.

(Image:  Phil Mickelson and Bone Saw/  Paul Childs-Action Images/Reuters via USA TODAY; Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic)

 

Saudi "Sportswashing" And Trump

 

The corrupt regime of Saudi Arabia, led by murderous Crown Prince Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman, has been busy ever since he ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 trying to wash its image by using sports as soap and water. One of the most visible efforts has been the LIV Golf tour sponsored by a fund 93% controlled by Bone Saw. LIV is trying to encroach on the PGA tour by bribing professional golfers to leave the PGA and join its operation. The PGA has sued LIV Golf for interfering with its players' contracts.

The Malignant Loser, a close friend of the Saudi leader and always eager to turn a buck no matter how corrupt, hosted  LIV Golf tournament events at his Bedminster, NJ, golf course last July, pocketing what was likely to be a tidy sum from the Saudis. The group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) has called on the Justice Department and Congress to investigate the Saudi - Trump financial web, not only for LIV Golf but also the payment of $2 billion to the Malignant Loser's son-in-law Jared "Mr. Ivanka Trump" Kushner's new investment fund, per Newsweek:

"'The revelation that a fund controlled by Crown Prince MBS actually owns almost all of LIV Golf means that MBS has been paying Donald Trump unknown millions for the past two years, via their mutual corporate covers,' said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN.

'The national security implications of payments from a grotesquely abusive foreign dictator to a president of the United States who provided extraordinary favors to him are as dangerous as they are shocking.'  [snip]

DAWN is also asking the DoJ and Congress to look into how far back discussion for the former president and his real estate company The Trump Organization to host LIV tournaments at his resort took place.

'If Trump or his agents discussed any deals with LIV Golf or PIF while Trump was still in office, a criminal investigation would also be in order because federal law strictly prohibits this sort of business dealing by sitting federal officials with foreign governments,' said Whitson."  (our emphasis)

You can be certain that as his reelection hopes dimmed in 2020, the Malignant Loser would be casting about for a financial lifeboat to climb into, and what better partner than the sinister Saudi regime under the cover of "golf." Now that he's announced his candidacy for 2024, it's more urgent than ever to uncover his ties with the Saudis, and prosecute any violations of the law.

(photo: Bandar al-Jaloud / AFP / Getty Images)